Litigation

Former Judge Pleads Guilty in PA

By Peter Hardin

Michael T. Toole, until recently a judge in Luzerne County, Pa., has pleaded guilty to charges of honest services fraud and evading taxes. He was the third judge to be removed from office in Luzerne County as a result of a federal corruption investigation.

“Your honor, with the strength of my faith and the support of my family and friends, I take complete responsibility for what I’ve done and will accept whatever punishment the court imposes,” Toole told U.S. District Judge Richard P. Conaboy in a Scranton federal courthouse, according to an article in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader.

His judge’s pay and benefits were revoked by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Dec. 29, The Legal Intelligencer reported. Prosecutors said Toole hid a financial relationship with a lawyer who appeared before him, and failed to report $30,000 he received from a different attorney on his income taxes.

You can learn more about the county scandal, and its repercussions for both criminal defendants and the public, in Gavel Grab.

Full post as published by The Gavel on January 05, 2010 (boomark / email).