HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A figure in Luzerne County's notorious "Kids for Cash" scandal has lost his law license.
Ex-judge Mark Ciavarella has been disbarred by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Ciavarella is currently serving a 28-year federal prison sentence after he was convicted in 2011 on 12 criminal counts.
Ciavarella and fellow judge Michael Conahan were accused of taking kickbacks in exchange for keeping a for-profit juvenile detention center full of offenders.
Last year, a federal judge vacated three of the most serious convictions against Ciavarella: racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and money laundering. Nine other convictions still stand, including mail fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and failing to pay taxes.
Ciavarella is waiting for a new trial on those vacated charges. If found not guilty, he could have years taken off his sentence.