Did Judge Accused of Fixing Case Against 'Citizens' Voice' Get Letters from Mobster?

By: A security guard at a northeastern Pennsylvania courthouse says she delivered envelopes from a reputed mobster to a county judge accused of fixing a defamation case against a newspaper.

Patty Benzi testified Wednesday that she hand-delivered between 10 and 20 large envelopes from William D'Elia to former Luzerne County Judge Michael Conahan. She says she didn't know what was in the envelopes but that the deliveries took place over a span of three years beginning in 2003.

Benzi was called by attorneys for The Citizens' Voice newspaper in Wilkes-Barre. The paper is contesting a $3.5 million defamation verdict against it, claiming the case was fixed by Conahan, D'Elia and another former judge.

George Croner, an attorney for the plaintiff, questioned whether the envelopes had anything to do with the defamation case.