Pocono News Section

Judge Toole to Plead Guilty to Federal Charges

Judge Toole to Plead Guilty to Federal Charges - Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 6:30PM EST

Reported by: Eyewitness News
Wednesday, Dec 2, 2009 @ 06:30pm EST
WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY -- Federal prosecutors have announced that Luzerne County Judge Michael Toole has agreed to plead guilty to charges of fraud and filing false income tax returns.

According to court papers, Toole accepted multiple free uses of an unnamed lawyer's New Jersey beach home in exchange for appointing a supposed neutral arbitrator of the unnamed lawyer's choosing to rule in civil cases for that lawyer.

He's also accused of not reporting a $30,000 payment he received on his 2006 tax return. Court papers show that Toole referred a case to a lawyer, then accepted the referral fee payment after the case was settled.

He faces a maximum of 23 years in prison and a $350,000 fine. He must also resign from the bench within 10 days of making his formal guilty plea.

Several weeks ago Judge Toole suddenly postponed all of his court cases and took an extended vacation amidst swirling rumors about his role in the ongoing corruption investigation. The plea agreement released by federal prosecutors was signed by Judge Toole and his lawyers on September 25th, but was just finalized and announced today.

Judge Toole is the third Luzerne County judge and 20th person overall to be nabbed in the ongoing Luzerne County corruption investigation. Earlier this year Judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella were charged in the probe.

Lead I-Team Investigator Andy Mehalshick will have the latest on this story tonight starting with Eyewitness News Live @ 5.