Biden faces scrutiny over clemency granted to individuals convicted in major corruption cases

President Joe Biden is facing backlash over granting clemency to individuals convicted in major public corruption cases.
 
The condemnation came not long after receiving criticism for pardoning his son Hunter Biden.

Mr. Biden commuted almost 1,500 sentences and pardoned 39 people this week, who the White House said “deserve a second chance.”

The 1,499 people whose sentences Mr. Biden commuted are those in home confinement through the 2020 CARES Act, which authorized the federal Bureau of Prisons to transfer medically vulnerable inmates imprisoned for nonviolent crimes from prisons to house arrest.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and others in his state criticized Mr. Biden for commuting the sentence of Judge Michael Conahan.

“This was not only a black eye on the community, the kids for cash scandal, but it also affected families in really deep and profound and sad ways,” Mr. Shapiro said. “Some children took their lives because of this. Families were torn apart.”

Sandy Fonzo, whose son Edward Kenzakoski died by suicide after spending time behind bars at one of the facilities as part of the kickback scheme, told the Citizens’ Voice she was “shocked… and hurt” by Mr. Biden’s decision to commute the remaining time on Conahan’s sentence.

“Conahan’s actions destroyed families, including mine, and my son’s death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power,” she said. “This pardon feels like an injustice for all of us who still suffer. Right now I am processing and doing the best I can to cope with the pain that this has brought back.”

Conahan and a second judge, Mark Ciavarella, were convicted in 2011 in what was known as the infamous “kids-for-cash” scandal, where they took $2.8 million in bribes from two for-profit detention centers in return for wrongly sending hundreds of juveniles to their facilities.

Conahan was sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison and his case was seen as one of the most scandalous judicial crimes in Pennsylvania history.

However, similar to the almost 1,500 people who received commutations from Mr. Biden, Conahan was already released from prison because of the COVID-19 pandemic and placed on House arrest which was scheduled to end in 2026.

Mr. Biden also received scrutiny for granting clemency to Rita Crundwell, the former comptroller of Dixon, a city in northern Illinois of about 15,000 people.

Crundwell had pleaded guilty in 2012 to a $54 million embezzlement scheme, which was seen as the largest municipal fraud in U.S. history and was sentenced to 20 years in prison—almost the maximum but was moved to house arrest in 2021 during the pandemic, where she was expected to stay until 2028.

Rep. Darin LaHood, Illinois Democrat, slammed Mr. Biden’s decision to grant the commutations.

“While many families in Dixon were living paycheck to paycheck, [Crundwell] took advantage of their trust in government and used her access to live an unearned life of luxury, in what the FBI still believes to be the largest theft of public funds in U.S. history,” said Mr. LaHood in a statement. “Commuting her 20-year sentence is a slap in the face to all the hardworking police officers, firefighters, city workers, and residents of Dixon.”

Crundwell used the funds she stole to build an enormous championship-winning horse breeding and show operation, prosecutors said. Along with her prison sentence, she was also required to pay restitution.

The U.S. Marshals auctioned off her estate and assets, bringing in about $9.2 million.

While a commutation does not eliminate a conviction from one’s record, it can include the withdrawal of financial impositions from a sentence.

NBC 5 Chicago reported that horses owned by Crundwell were still generating royalties while she was in prison through so-called “breeder’s trusts,” which “make it possible for breeders to collect proceeds even if they won’t own a winning show horse, and allowing them to earn money as a ’subscriber’ — a person who registers a stallion to sire foals — or as a ’nominator’ — a person who previously owned a foal that eventually earns money.”