{"id":136814,"date":"2024-12-14T04:46:53","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T21:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=136814"},"modified":"2024-12-14T04:46:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T21:46:53","slug":"victims-shocked-after-biden-grants-clemency-to-kids-for-cash-judge-and-54-million-embezzler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=136814","title":{"rendered":"Victims \u2018shocked\u2019 after Biden grants clemency to \u2018kids-for-cash\u2019 judge and $54 million embezzler"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-editable=\"content\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-reorderable=\"content\">\n<p>\n    <cite class=\"source__cite\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"source__location\" data-editable=\"location\">Washington<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"source__text\" data-editable=\"source\">CNN<\/span><br \/>\n        \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<br \/>\n    <\/cite>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7coen00cn26p46j2lcofo@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Victims of major public corruption cases in Pennsylvania and Illinois are angry that President Joe Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/12\/12\/politics\/biden-clemency-pardons-non-violent-crimes\/index.html\">granted clemency this week<\/a> to two convicted officials.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iv00073b6mor0jc4vx@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The commutations were announced Thursday as part of a historic clemency package for 1,500 convicted criminals who, the White House said, \u201cdeserve a second chance.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iv00083b6m0nls6bzq@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The two convicted officials whose cases sparked outrage \u2013 a crooked Pennsylvania judge and a notorious Illinois fraudster \u2013 were both released from prison early and put on house arrest, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden\u2019s actions now end that punishment.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iv00093b6mkdugwbnj@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The president has already faced bipartisan criticism over his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/12\/01\/politics\/hunter-biden-joe-biden-pardon\/index.html\">highly controversial pardon<\/a> of his son Hunter Biden, who was convicted earlier this year of 12 tax and gun crimes.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iv000a3b6mvtxr5wye@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            CNN has reached out to the White House for comment on the commutations.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iv000c3b6m06nqt095@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Former Pennsylvania Judge Michael Conahan was convicted in 2011 in what was infamously called the <a href=\"https:\/\/jlc.org\/luzerne-kids-cash-scandal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201ckids-for-cash\u201d scandal<\/a>, where he took kickbacks from for-profit detention centers in exchange for wrongly sending juveniles to their facilities. The case was widely considered to be one of the worst judicial scandals in Pennsylvania history.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iv000d3b6mu2auu2xd@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Like all of the other nearly 1,500 people who got commutations from Biden this week, Conahan was freed from prison due to Covid. His house arrest was set to end in 2026.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iv000e3b6moh2519ip@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The misconduct of Conahan and another Luzerne County judge led the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to throw out 4,000 juvenile convictions, and the discredited state judges were ordered to pay $200 million to the victims, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/08\/18\/1118108084\/michael-conahan-mark-ciavarella-kids-for-cash\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iv000f3b6m24batu3c@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Sandy Fonzo \u2013 the mother of Edward Kenzakoski, who died by suicide after spending time behind bars as part of the kickback scheme \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensvoice.com\/2024\/12\/12\/biden-commutes-sentence-for-kids-for-cash-judge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> she was \u201cshocked\u2026 and hurt\u201d after learning of Biden\u2019s decision to commute the rest of Conahan\u2019s punishment.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000g3b6mxwe32vn1@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cConahan\u2018s actions destroyed families, including mine, and my son\u2018s death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power,\u201d Fonzo told the Citizens\u2019 Voice, a local outlet. \u201cThis pardon feels like an injustice for all of us who still suffer. Right now I am processing and doing the best I can to cope with the pain that this has brought back.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000h3b6megd470zy@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pahomepage.com\/news\/shapiro-on-conahan-president-biden-got-it-absolutely-wrong\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">also said<\/a> Friday at an unrelated news conference in Biden\u2019s hometown of Scranton that, \u201cI do feel strongly that President Biden got it absolutely wrong and created a lot of pain here in northeastern Pennsylvania.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000j3b6mpdzyq3oz@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            There was similar fallout in Illinois, after Biden gave clemency to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2024\/12\/12\/biden-commutes-sentences-crundwell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rita Crundwell<\/a>, the former comptroller of Dixon, a city of roughly 15,000 in the northern part of the state.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000k3b6m8tyegd97@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            She pleaded guilty in 2012 to a $54 million embezzlement scheme, which was believed to be the largest municipal fraud in US history. She was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-ndil\/pr\/former-dixon-comptroller-rita-crundwell-sentenced-nearly-20-years-federal-prison-537\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sentenced<\/a> to almost 20 years in prison, nearly the maximum, though she moved to house arrest during the pandemic.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000l3b6m64p2vw7b@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            She was supposed to be on house arrest until 2028, according to the Bureau of Prisons.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000m3b6mx6dx8vru@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cWhen I heard the news, I was completely shocked in disbelief, I was outraged and felt a complete sense of betrayal from the federal justice system, the White House and the president,\u201d Dixon city manager Danny Langloss told CNN in an interview on Friday.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000n3b6mjg6bjqbn@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Langloss, who said he doesn\u2019t affiliate with a political party, was the police chief when Crundwell\u2019s fraud was uncovered. He said he believes \u201cjustice wasn\u2019t served here.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000o3b6mga5ppko0@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cI don\u2019t like the idea \u2026 that with several more years of her sentence to complete, she gets to walk free in the community that she betrayed and stole from,\u201d Langloss said.\n    <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subheader inline-placeholder\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/subheader\/instances\/cm4n7dc8j000y3b6mm84jyyev@published\" data-component-name=\"subheader\" id=\"fallout-from-the-pandemic\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n        Fallout from the pandemic<br \/>\n<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000q3b6mj57dyvgd@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Margaret Love, who served in the Justice Department as the US pardon attorney from 1990 to 1997, said the fallout from Biden\u2019s latest commutations was a consequence of how the prison population was reduced during Covid \u2013 under the Trump administration.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000r3b6mlxf05r8v@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Congress passed the bipartisan CARES Act in March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, which, among other things, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/12\/21\/politics\/inmates-pandemic\/index.html\">paved the way<\/a> for the federal government to move <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/final-rule-issued-home-confinement-under-coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-cares\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">about 12,000 inmates<\/a> from federal prisons into home confinement. Many of these people have since completed their sentences, though plenty remain on house arrest.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000s3b6m830l3dn8@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cMany people who were sent home were convicted of white-collar or nonviolent offenses and were considered safe bets to behave in the community,\u201d Love said, adding that she believed the decision-making was tainted by racial discrimination.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000t3b6mnwocwmx1@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/our-work\/analysis-opinion\/senate-resolution-would-send-thousands-people-under-home-confinement-back\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">grumblings<\/a> among some Republicans about sending these convicts back to prison, Love said Biden \u201csimply cleaned out this population\u201d and took that option off the table.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cm4n7d6iw000u3b6mux0u0cwn@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            And to those upset that Biden let these criminals out of house arrest early, \u201cyou should have complained four years ago when they were released from prison,\u201d Love said.\n    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/12\/13\/politics\/joe-biden-commutations-pennsylvania-illinois\/index.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington CNN \u00a0\u2014\u00a0 Victims of major public corruption cases in Pennsylvania and Illinois are angry that President Joe Biden granted clemency this week to two convicted officials. The commutations were &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=136814\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-136814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=136814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136814\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=136814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=136814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=136814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}