Joseph D'Andrea | Scranton Criminal Defense Lawyer

Representative Cases

Currently represents Attorney Robert Powell, one of the key figures in one of the largest judicial scandals in United States history. Three Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas Judges were indicted in Federal Court in the United States Middle District of Pennsylvania and, in particular, two judges were involved in what has become known as “Kids for Cash” scheme whereby youth offenders were improperly sent to a private juvenile detention center for financial gain. The client is the owner of the juvenile detention center. Two judges have pleaded guilty and the other found guilty at trial of RICO violations.

Represented a sixty-one-year-old man charged in connection with the First Degree Murder shooting death of a Rahway, New Jersey Police Officer which occurred in November of 1958. The charges, which were unsolved for forty-one years, were eventually brought against client. Successful plea negotiations resulted in a county jail sentence of two years and eleven months. The case would be a feature story on 60 Minutes. (See New York Times Article.)

Successfully gained an acquittal for two men charged with a felony Aggravated Assault for the alleged serious beating of an off duty police officer.

Negotiated a very successful resolution to a First Degree Murder charge of a client involved in a shooting whereby the alleged victim’s death was a result of seven gunshots to the chest. These negotiations resulted in a plea to a misdemeanor. In a matter involving a third offense Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, punishable by a mandatory minimum one year of incarceration, charges were dismissed on a Petition for Habeas Corpus.

In a high profile Scranton area drug sweep, Perjury charges against the alleged drug ringleader’s girlfriend brought by the Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General were dismissed at a Pre-Trial Hearing.

Successfully negotiated a plea for probation for an individual charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver in excess of sixty-five pounds of marijuana. The Defendant received a sentence of probation without providing any cooperation or assistance.

Successfully negotiated a plea to the charge of Disorderly Conduct resulting in a $1,000.00 fine for a client charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver fifteen grams of heroin, a charge that would have carried a mandatory five year sentence.