Pennsylvania mother furious after Biden commutes ‘cash for kids’ sentence: ‘Ruined my son’s life’

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A Pennsylvania mother is taking aim at President Joe Biden after he commuted the sentence of a corrupt judge who sentenced teenagers to millions of dollars in return.

Sandy Fonzo, whose son Edward Kenzakoski took his own life after spending eight months in a juvenile detention center, joined “Fox & Friends” to reveal her information to the president.

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“Joe Biden has come here and campaigned multiple times, and he is… ‘Joe Scranton.’ He is one of us, he knows our struggles, and he cares about our communities, our children, and our families , but that’s absolutely not true,” Fonzo told Steve Doocy on Monday.

“He’s not one of us.”

Fonzo called for reform of the system related to presidential pardons and commutations.

“I would like to see his name removed because this is just…another slap in the face, another injustice, on top of the grief that everyone in this community is already enduring,” she continued.

In what became known as the “cash-for-kids scandal,” former Judge Michael Conahan closed a county juvenile detention center and shared the builder and co-owner of two for-profit detention centers $2.8 million in illegal payments. Another judge, Mark Ciavarella, was also involved in the case. illegal schemeThe impact is still being felt by the victims and their families to this day.

Ciavarella ordered the detention of children as young as 8 years old, many of whom were considered first-time offenders for petty theft, jaywalking, truancy and smoking in school. Other minor violations. Judges often order teenagers he finds guilty of delinquency to be immediately shackled, handcuffed and removed, without giving them a chance to defend themselves or even give their families a chance to say goodbye.

Both Conahan and Ciavarela were ordered to pay more than $200 million to nearly 300 victims in 2022, although the now-adult victims are unlikely to receive a fraction of the compensation.

Former Luzerne County Court Judges Michael Conahan (front left) and Mark Ciavarella (front right) leave U.S. District Court in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on September 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Citizen Voice, Mark Moran)

The scandal is considered the largest judicial corruption scheme in Pennsylvania’s history, with the state’s Supreme Court vacating the convictions of some 4,000 juveniles involving more than 2,300 children after the scheme was exposed.

Biden commuted the sentence of Conahan, who was jailed for more than 17 years after being caught receiving kickbacks for sending teenagers to for-profit detention facilities.

Conahan, 72, pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy in 2010 but was released from prison in 2020 due to COVID-19 health concerns and converted to home confinement with six years remaining on his sentence.

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“I’m filled with all kinds of emotions,” Fonzo said after hearing the news. “Hurt. Defeat. Now I have more time to process it, more anger… It’s very frustrating and personal.”

Biden’s announcement last week is part of that plan The largest act of pardon in a single day In modern history, he commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoned 39 others.

Fonzo said her son was involved in an underage drinking incident, spent months in jail and never recovered. He eventually committed suicide.

“When my son came out, he was eight months old,” Fonzo said. “He’s not the same person anymore. He’s pent up with anger and pain for all the mistakes he made. He won’t accept any kind of counseling… He doesn’t want to look you in the eye… I can’t imagine that, and I try Don’t think about what happened to him in that facility, but he never recovered from it.

“These judges have control,” she continued. “They have all the power and no one can say anything. No one can come forward.”

Since the lawsuit began in 2009, other children who were victims of the “kickback” scheme have died, either from overdoses or by suicide.

“He ruined my son’s life. My life. He ruined a lot of people’s lives,” Fonzo said.

“There were a lot of kids who lost their lives, not just my son… One of the boys, Charlie, who was eight years old, actually appeared in the documentary with us and talked about it everywhere. He’s been talking about it ever since. Life was lost.

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan, Matt Finn and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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