As former Luzerne County Judge Michael Conahan begins serving his prison sentence on a corruption charge, his wife, Barbara, has taken up residence in a spacious Florida townhome she purchased in June for $643,000.
Barbara Conahan purchased the home, located in The Estuary, a gated community in Delray Beach that overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway, on June 7, according to a deed filed with the West Palm Beach Recorder of Deeds office.
Michael Conahan had been living at the home with her since August, according to an affidavit he filed with the Florida court.The deed shows the home, located at 1447 Estuary Trail, was purchased solely by Barbara Conahan. There is no record of a mortgage on the property, indicating it was either purchased with cash or financed in a way that did not require the home be utilized as security for the loan.
Michael Conahan was sentenced on Friday to 17 � years in federal prison and ordered to pay $874,167 in restitution and a $20,000 fine for his guilty plea to one count of racketeering conspiracy.
Conahan admitted he accepted millions of dollars from the builder and owner of two juvenile detention centers the county utilized as a reward for actions he and former Judge Mark Ciavarella took that benefited the centers.
Conahan also admitted he then took action to disguise the source of the money to make it appear as though it was legitimately earned, including falsely portraying it as rental income at a condominium his and Ciavarella’s wives owned in Jupiter, Fla.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office had previously expressed concern that Conahan and Ciavarella would seek to divest themselves of assets to protect them from any forfeiture or restitution order that would be issued.
There are no court documents filed in the case that would preclude Barbara Conahan from making any purchases, however.
The plea agreement Michael Conahan signed states he must pay restitution, but it does not preclude him or his spouse from incurring new debt prior to his sentencing or limit any purchases they could make. Prosecutors never filed any court papers that sought to freeze his assets.
U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith declined to comment Monday on whether his office had any authority to try to prevent Barbara Conahan from making the purchase.
Arthur Donato, one of Conahan’s attorneys, said the purchase did not violate any agreement Conahan had with the government.
“We have been cooperating with the government,” Donato said. “There wasn’t anything we did they weren’t aware of. We certainly would not violate any implicit or explicit agreement regarding assets.”
Conahan was taken to the federal detention center in Philadelphia on Friday pending transfer to another facility at which he will serve his sentence.
He has requested to be placed at the minimum-security Federal Detention Camp in Pensacola, Fla., which is about a 10-hour drive from Delray Beach. The Department of Corrections is not obligated to honor that request, however.
The Delray Beach townhome has three bedrooms and three baths spread over 3,317 square feet, according to a real estate listing of the property, which was listed by Re/Max Services of Boca Raton, Fla. The listing said the three-floor unit has “magnificent” views of the Intracoastal Waterway and includes a built-in bar and entertainment center.
The townhome is about an hour’s drive from the condominium in Jupiter, Fla., that authorities say was used by Michael Conahan and Ciavarella to launder money they illegally earned.
Barbara Conahan had been living at the Jupiter condominium since at least April of this year, according to an affidavit she filed with the Palm Beach County Recorder of Deeds office.
The condo is now in foreclosure, according to Florida court records. First National Community Bank in Dunmore, which holds an $848,000 mortgage, filed for foreclosure on June 28, the records show.
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