Judge who oversaw ‘kids for cash’ case is missing

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SCRANTON – The federal judge who presided over the notorious “kids for cash” case, in which two local judges were accused of taking money from the developer of a pair of for-profit detention centers, has been reported missing from his home.

Edwin Kosik, 91, who recently stopped hearing cases due to health issues, was last seen at his home outside Scranton around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The Marshals Service said Kosik was driving a gray 2015 Acura with driver’s-side damage and may be “at special risk of harm or injury.”

The Marshals Service planned a news conference Thursday to discuss Kosik’s disappearance.

The Scranton Times-Tribune reported last month that Kosik would no longer hear cases because of health issues. The newspaper quoted his son, attorney Michael Kosik, as saying the judge had a difficult time recovering from broken ribs he suffered in two falls.

Kosik became inactive but kept his chambers. He is still listed as a judge on the website of the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He was appointed to the federal bench in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan.

In the kids-for-cash case, Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and his boss, Judge Michael T. Conahan, routinely found children guilty of crimes and sent them to the youth centers without a lawyer to represent them.

The judges pleaded guilty to federal charges, but Kosik rejected the deal, saying they hadn’t fully accepted responsibility for the crimes.

Ciavarella was convicted in 2011 of racketeering and other charges, and sentenced to 28 years in prison. Conahan, who oversaw the scam, pleaded guilty to racketeering and was sentenced to more than 17 years behind bars. Two other men were also convicted and given prison sentences.

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Published: March 30, 2017 — 3:01 AM EDT

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