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A Pennsylvania mother took aim at President Biden after receiving a commutation of the sentences of a corrupt judge who sentenced the boys in exchange for millions of dollars.
Sandy Fonzo's son, Edward Kenzakoski, took his own life after spending eight months in a juvenile detention center, but she joined “Fox & Friends” to reveal her message to the president.
Biden commutes prison sentences of 1,500 people, pardons 39 others: 'largest single-day pardon'
“Joe Biden came here and campaigned over and over again that he was…'Joe Scranton.' He knows our pain, he knows our community, He cared about his children, he cared about his family, and that's just not true,'' Fonzo told Steve Doocy on Monday.
“He's not one of us.”
Fonzo called for reforms to the system surrounding presidential pardons and commutations.
“I want his name removed because it's… another slap in the face, another injustice on top of the grief that everyone in this community has already endured,” she said. continued.
Sandy Fonzo, whose late son was the victim of a corrupt kickback scheme, joined “Fox & Friends” to discuss his reaction to the news that Biden would commute Pennsylvania Judge Michael Conahan's sentence.
In what became known as the Children's Cash Scandal, former Judge Michael Conahan shut down a county-run juvenile detention center and ordered 280 He shared illegal payments of $10,000. Another judge, Mark Ciavarella, was also involved in the case. illegal planIts effects are still felt among victims and their families.
Ciavarella ordered the detention of children as young as 8 years old, many of whom were considered delinquent for first-time offenses such as petty theft, pedestrian crossing, truancy, and smoking on school grounds. Other minor violations. Judges often ordered young people discovered to be delinquent to be immediately shackled, handcuffed, and taken away without a chance to defend themselves or say goodbye to their families.
In 2022, Mr. Conahan and Mr. Ciavarella were ordered to pay more than $200 million to about 300 victims, but it is unlikely that the adult victims will receive even a portion of the damages.
Former Luzerne County Court Judges Michael Conahan (front row, left) and Mark Ciavarella (front row, right) leave the 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 case in Pennsylvania history, and the state Supreme Court threw out nearly 4,000 juvenile convictions involving more than 2,300 children after the scheme was uncovered.
Biden granted a commutation of sentence for Conahan, who was jailed for more than 17 years after being arrested for accepting kickbacks for sending juveniles to for-profit detention centers.
Mr. Conahan, 72, pleaded guilty in 2010 to one count of racketeering conspiracy, but was forced to plead guilty in 2020 with six years left on his sentence due to health concerns related to COVID-19. He was released from prison and placed under home confinement.
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Fonzo said he was “filled with all kinds of emotions” when he heard the news. “I'm hurt. I'm defeated. Now that I've had more time to process it, I'm more angry…This is very upsetting and personal.”
Biden's announcement last week was Largest single-day pardon In modern history, he has commuted the prison sentences of approximately 1,500 people and granted pardons to 39 people.
Fonzo spoke after her son, who was involved in an underage drinking incident, was locked up for months and never recovered. He ended up committing suicide.
“When my son actually came out, he was 8 months old,” Fonzo said. “He wasn't the same person. He carried anger and bitterness over everything that was wrong. He wouldn't accept any counseling… He wouldn't look you in the eye. It was… I can't imagine, and I try not to think about what happened to him in that facility, but he never recovered from it.”
“These judges just had control,” she continued. “They had all the power, but no one could say anything. No one could come forward.”
Since the lawsuit began in 2009, other children who were victims of the “kickback” system have died from overdoses or suicide.
“He ruined my son's life. He ruined my life. He ruined multiple lives,” Fonzo said.
“A lot of kids are losing their lives, not just my son… One of the eight-year-old boys, Charlie, is actually in our documentary and he's walking around and speaking out about this. Since then, he has lost his life. There are many children who are still suffering.”
Fox News' Michael Dorgan, Matt Finn and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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