''Kids for Cash'' is a 2013

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about the "kids for cash" scandal which unfolded in 2008 over judicial kickbacks in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

. Two judges were found guilty of accepting kickbacks in exchange for sending thousands of juveniles to detention centers when probation or a lesser penalty would have been appropriate. Some juveniles were sent to detention centers for incidents as minor as theft of a CD from

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

Synopsis

In the film, former judge Michael Conahan admits to his crime and accepts the plea agreement. On September 23, 2011, he was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison and ordered to pay 874,000 dollars in restitution. Unlike Conahan, former judge

Mark Ciavarella Mark Arthur Ciavarella Jr. (born March 3, 1950) is an American convicted felon and former President Judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, who was involved, along with fellow judge Michael Conahan, in th ...

did not accept a plea agreement and completely denied allegations of his involvement in the kids-for-cash scam. He and his family went as far as accusing Conahan of lying about the scam. They claimed Ciavarella was being falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. As a result, he was sentenced to 28 years in prison, 10.5 more years than Conahan. Had he admitted to his crimes, Ciavarella may have had a lesser sentence similar to that of Conahan. The documentary points directly to Conahan’s involvement in the scam and how he was involved in several business endeavors that gave him the experience necessary to orchestrate the scam. Conahan signed a plea agreement admitting to financial kickbacks from the scam. Ciavarella was found guilty of twelve of thirty-nine federal felonies including racketeering,

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

, money laundering, fraud

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

and filing false tax returns. After beginning his sentence at a

Federal correctional institution The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories: * United States penitentiaries * Federal correctional institutions * Private correctional institutions * Federal prison camps * Administrative facilities * Federal correctio ...

Pekin, Illinois Pekin () is a city in and the county seat of Tazewell County, Illinois, Tazewell County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located on the Illinois River, Pekin is the largest city of Tazewell County and the second most populous municipality of the Pe ...

, Ciavarella was transferred in October 2014 to a

Federal transfer center The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories: * United States penitentiaries * Federal correctional institutions * Private correctional institutions * Federal prison camps * Administrative facilities * Federal correctio ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. In March 2015, the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

rejected Ciavarella’s petition for an appeal of his conviction. He will be 85-years-old when he is eligible for release. Several sources have published that former judge Conahan demanded $129,000 from former judge Ciavarella’s in-laws, but more reputable sources have yet to confirm this allegation.

Production

Interviewees include

, Michael Conahan, Justin Bodnar, Hillary Transue, Amanda Lorah, Sandy Fonzo, Charlie Balasavage, and Terrie Morgan-Besecker.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film an approval rating of 92% based on 36 reviews. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

the film has a score of 75% based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Ronnie Scheib of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote: "The film represents a scathing critique of America’s juvenile justice system, the privatization of penal institutions, and the whole notion of "zero tolerance."" Frank Scheck of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' called it "A real-life thriller that rivals the most dramatic fiction in terms of emotional impact."

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 2925642, Kids for Cash
''Kids for Cash'' Documentary: Meet the Director
by Scott Schaffer (18 November 2013)
Kids For Cash: Inside One of the Nation’s Most Shocking Juvenile Justice Scandals
''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...

'' (4 February 2014)
'Kids For Cash' Captures A Juvenile Justice Scandal From Two Sides
''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

.'' (8 March 2014) 2013 films 2013 documentary films American documentary films Documentary films about children Documentary films about crime in the United States Documentary films about incarceration in the United States Documentary films about lawyers Documentary films about miscarriage of justice in the United States Films scored by Michael Brook Films about corruption in the United States Films about lawyers Films set in Pennsylvania Juvenile justice system 2010s English-language films 2010s American films

Synopsis

Production

Reception

See also

References

External links