In the bitter cold between Christmas and New Year’s, Sandy Fonzo stood before a crowd in Scranton’s Courthouse Square. Her voice was trembling with emotion. Fonzo wasn’t there to celebrate the holiday season.
Instead, she was there for her son, Eddie, who took his own life after falling victim to one of the most notorious judicial scandals in Pennsylvania history. Now, President Joe Biden’s recent decision to commute the sentence of one of the judges responsible has reopened deep wounds in his childhood hometown.
“My son, who should still be here today, was failed by a system that was supposed to protect him,” Fonzo said. She was speaking to the dozens gathered to demand the removal of Biden’s name from two major Scranton roadways. “And instead of holding this judge accountable, the clemency erases the harm he caused, dismissing the pain of thousands of families in this community.”
In a stunning display of tone-deaf political calculation, Biden commuted the sentence of former Judge Michael Conahan on December 13. This has ignited a grassroots movement to rename the President Biden Expressway and Biden Street.
The rally, which drew concerned citizens from both Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, represents a community united in outrage. The disgraced judge was serving time for his role in the infamous “Kids for Cash” scandal. This is the controversy in which more than 2,500 children received harsh sentences for minor offenses while judges pocketed millions in kickbacks.
“You know, right between Christmas and New Year’s, to have this many people show up, it just shows that people really do want to get rid of the sign,” said Theodore Fitzgerald, Chairman of the Luzerne County Republicans, who organized the rally. “He really doesn’t represent Scranton anymore.”
Conahan’s Horrifying Scheme
The scandal’s impact continues to reverberate through the community. Conahan, along with former Judge Mark Ciavarella, orchestrated a scheme that saw thousands of young lives derailed for minor infractions. Meanwhile, the judges profited from their relationship with private juvenile detention facilities. Conahan had served most of his 17-year sentence. However, Biden’s decision to grant clemency has struck a nerve with victims’ families. They believe that justice has been undermined. Is this really the legacy that Scranton wants immortalized on its street signs?
“What he did, Biden, by pardoning these people is really wrong,” said Old Forge resident George Yescavage. “I mean, you think about it, he put kids in jail to make a profit for minor offenses, which is dead wrong.”
The community’s determination has only grown stronger as more families come forward to share their stories of lives forever changed by the corrupt judges’ actions. Each account adds to the mounting evidence that this issue transcends traditional political divisions. It touches the very heart of what it means to protect our communities and our children.
In a move that perfectly illustrates the growing divide between political elites and everyday Americans, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan have both opposed the name changes. They’ve done this despite acknowledging disagreement with Biden’s decision to commute Conahan’s sentence.
“I don’t think each president should be defined by one decision that they make,” Gaughan argued. Meanwhile, Cognetti suggested that the calls for removal were “being used for political purposes.”
This Isn’t About Politics
Yet for families like the Fonzos, however, this isn’t about politics – it’s about justice and accountability. Indeed, rally participants emphasized that their fight transcends partisan divisions. They’re instead focused on protecting community values and remembering the victims of a scandal that shook Pennsylvania to its core.
“We’re going to put as much pressure on the elected officials to get the signs removed,” Fitzgerald promised the crowd. “Everything peacefully, legally – we’re gonna ask them to do the right thing.”
As the rally concluded and families dispersed into the winter afternoon. Their message remained clear: in a city that once proudly claimed Joe Biden as its son, his decision to show mercy to a corrupt judge has forced many to question whether their streets should continue bearing his name. For the families of Kids for Cash victims, every drive past those street signs now serves as a painful reminder of justice denied.
Key Takeaways:
- Biden’s commutation of “Kids for Cash” judge sparks grassroots movement in his childhood hometown.
- Over 2,500 children were victimized by corrupt judges who received millions in kickbacks.
- Grieving mother whose son died by suicide leads charge to remove Biden’s name from streets.
- Local officials resist name change despite acknowledging disagreement with Biden’s decision.
Sources: WNEP, PA Homepage, Scranton Times Tribune
Leave a Comment