Chivarella and Conahan were bona-fide elected state-level judges. While Luzerne county is part of the 69th largest market in the US and contains the city of Wilkes-Barre it is made up mostly of old anthricite coal towns which haven't had any future in the past 60 years. It is easily one of the most bigoted and backward areas in the country. Governments are essentially collections of "good old boy" networks where everything is done with a nod & a wink. Democratic machine politics are alive and well here, and the system has been in place for over 100 years. New comers are not welcome here. Doesn't matter what your color or philosophy is. If you are not from here (and I am not) you could live here for the next 60 years and never be accepted. I used to manage a business here that required a large sales staff. I could not hire "outsiders" into sales positions because no matter how skilled or successful the sales-type had been elsewhere, if he wasn't related to cousin Vinny or Uncle Stosh he couldn't get a sale if he was giving his product away. The city of Hazleton which is also in Luzerne county got national and international attention, when it's mayor went on a rant against hispanic immigrants and got his city council to draft a handful of unconstitutional laws involving renting to hispanics. The city got sued by the ACLU and others. The mayor Lou Barletta went on the offensive and offensive he was, and it got continual attention for about 8 months from virtually every national news organization. Satellite trucks were are regular sight on city streets. International groups like the UK's BBC, Italy's RAI and Japan's NHK all came to little Hazleton, PA in Luzerne county to look at the city's lunatic mayor and talk to the red-ned bigots who walk the street. CNN's Lou Dobbs did his show there at least 4 times in the past year. Loony Lou capped his campaign to rid the world of anyone who wasn't free, white and 21 from his city by making a run for congress on the Repub line against incumbent Dem Paul Kanjorski. Loony Lou is still the mayor of Hazleton. His laws lost in Federal court, and the city appealed, and is being heard again at the next Federal level in Philly..where they are expected to lose again. Since the Supreme court will never hear this case, the city will then be on the hook for everyone's legal fees, which is expected to bankrupt that city. By the way, ALL the indicted parties in this judge scandal all happen to be from..HAZLETON!!!