Mericle

Federal prosecutors allege that Ciavarella took illegal kickbacks from Mericle and extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the facility's developer.

Winging It 2011

"If anybody deserves it, it's you," Mericle told Ciavarella.

Winging It 2011

Mericle and Powell pleaded guilty to lesser offenses and testified against Ciavarella; both await sentencing.

The Seattle Times 2011

Under cross-examination, Mericle said he did not consider his payment to Ciavarella a kickback or a bribe.

Winging It 2011

Mericle, the owner of a commercial construction company with more than 200 employees, said it's industry practice to pay referral fees to individuals who put deals together.

Winging It 2011

Ciavarella told jurors that he thought he was legally entitled to Mericle's money, calling it a "finder's fee" for introducing Mericle to Powell.

The Seattle Times 2011

Ciavarella, who presided over juvenile court, sent youths to the center and later to its sister facility in western Pennsylvania while he was taking payments from Mericle, a prominent builder and close friend of Ciavarella, and Powell, a high-powered attorney.

The Seattle Times 2011

"From there we began to focus on them, the financial dealings between Judge Conahan, Judge Ciavarella, Mericle, Powell."

The Seattle Times 2011

The jury found Ciavarella guilty of taking a $997,600 kickback from Robert Mericle, the builder of the juvenile facilities - money he was ordered to forfeit to the federal government after the verdicts were announced.

The Seattle Times 2011

Mericle said he had paid another $1 million referral fee after building a second detention center for Powell, this one in Butler County, in the western part of the state.

Winging It 2011