SCRANTON — Despite his money and influence, his extensive record of philanthropy and his cooperation with federal prosecutors, businessman Robert K. Mericle is headed to prison. "This was a win for the people, a win for the victims," said Frank Soric of Wilkes-Barre 
 
 In September 2009, Mericle pleaded guilty to charges of withholding information about the deal that led to the Kids for Cash scandal. Federal prosecutors accused Mericle, 51, of helping then-Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan conceal the source of more than $2 million in “finder’s fees” paid to them by Mericle and attorney Robert Powell in connection with the construction of two juvenile detention centers built by Mericle’s company. Mericle said he was sorry and ashamed to put his family and friends through this. Conahan ultimately pleaded guilty to a charge of racketeering conspiracy and was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison. Powell, one of the co-owners of the juvenile detention centers at the heart of the scandal, testified at Ciavarella’s trial that the former judges extorted money from him in exchange for actions they took on the bench related to the centers. Mericle, meanwhile, languished in limbo, as his case was linked to others. The U.S. Attorney’s Office sought a reduced sentence of six to eight months, citing Mericle’s cooperation with the government, including his testimony against Ciavarella. Character witnesses 
 
 They also heard from several character witnesses who spoke on Mericle’s behalf. • Engineer Tom Lawson spoke of working with Mericle during the 2011 Susquehanna River flooding, when Mericle donated his efforts to help prevent a levee break that would have devastated the West Side. But when Judge Kosik handed down his sentence, he said of Mericle, "I believe he is trafficking on his contributions to the community." Developer Robert Mericle said nothing as he left the federal courthouse in Scranton after learning his punishment: $250,000 in fines, 100 hours of community service, and one year in federal prison, a term that surprised a well-known figure in the kids for cash scandal. According to paperwork signed later Friday by Kosik, Mericle now has until June 2 to report. In a statement released later by the office, U.S. Attorney Peter Smith characterized the sentence as “appropriate in view of the factors considered by the Court.” 
 
 The government’s most powerful statement, perhaps, came in the final words offered by prosecutor Consiglio before Kosik handed down the sentence. “This community has had public corruption for a very long time,” Consiglio said, saying public corruption happens because “corrupt public officials have relationships” with people willing to pay them in an effort to exert influence.
– How long will you spend in prison for paying a judge to send thousands of kids to juvenile detention? In developer Robert Mericle's case, the answer is one year. Mericle and a lawyer paid more than $2 million in "finder's fees" to a pair of judges to send inmates to two jails Mericle built, in the infamous "Kids for Cash" scandal. But paying those fees wasn't technically illegal for Mericle; his crime was lying about them to investigators, the Wilkes Barre Times-Leader explains. Prosecutors had suggested Mericle spend only six months in jail, noting that he'd eventually cooperated with the government and testified against the corrupt judges—who got far longer sentences. A number of character witnesses also spoke up for Mericle, WNEP reports, and Mericle's lawyer cited his record of philanthropy. But Judge Edwin Kosik said Mericle was trafficking on his contributions to society, and deserved a harsh sentence. "This false information was nothing but corruption," he said.