Child Advocate Pleads Not Guilty to Tax Evasion Charges
By: Eric Deabill
Updated: February 16, 2013
Scranton, Lackawanna County - An attorney, who was working as a child advocate in Lackawanna County, pleaded not guilty to tax evasion charges Friday morning.
After being indicted Tuesday, Danielle Ross made her first appearance in federal court.
The hearing lasted less than ten minutes.
Since the allegations came to light, the 37-year-old has had her contract suspended with Lackawanna County.
"I'm pretty confident we haven't seen the whole iceberg here," Bill Burnell of Honesdale said.
As Ross showed up for her court hearing, she was met by many people she has dealt with in the past.
"She was so smug in court like she was just Ms. Hottie-Tottie," Marie Jones of Scranton said. "Well, you know what? You're days are over."
Prosecutors say while Ross was working as Guardian Ad Litem in Lackawanna County, a position that had her represent a child's best interests in a parent custody dispute, prosecutors say she didn't properly report money she billed parents between 2009 and 2010.
Her attorney intends to fight the allegations.
"We think they're merit-less," defense attorney David Solfanelli said. "They stem from a much broader investigation that showed corruption didn't take place."
Many people now wonder if this case just begins and ends with tax evasion. Some people say they would like to see some of the custody cases Ross worked on be re-opened.
"I think it's a first step and you have to ask yourself, if somebody's arrogant enough to do something like she's accused of in such a bold and brazen manner, what else is she arrogant enough to do in other areas in her practice?" Brunell said.
If convicted, Ross faces up to 16 years in prison.
She was released after Friday's hearing. Many people say they would have liked to see her detained pending trial.
"There's gotta be a lot, gotta be a lot of people involved. A lot of people got hurt," Jane Ward of Scranton said.
"I just wanted to see justice done. I want to see what happens because it's corrupt," Misty Bankhead of Olyphant said.
"She didn't know me from a hole in the wall and she treated me like I was dirt under her feet," Jones said.
Ross' trial has tentatively been set for April 15th in front of Judge A. Richard Caputo at the federal courthouse in Wilkes-Barre.
Comments
possible 16 years? Are you kidding? We will never get the years back with our kids that she took away. Smug? I am a working professional therapist. She laughed in my face and told me that if I wasn't "good" that she wouldn't give me anything more than supervised visits! She abused her power, her position and exploited families. David Solfanelli do your homework! Shame on you Danielle. I hope they give you life for all the lives you have forever altered on your power trip! I bet if you look really hard you will find lots of services rendered as well like services Danielle needed and traded kids futures in exchange
Patricia P.
February 15, 2013 at 8:27 pm
possible 16 years? Are you kidding? We will never get the years back with our kids that she took away. Smug? I am a working professional therapist. She laughed in my face and told me that if I wasn't "good" that she wouldn't give me anything more than supervised visits! She abused her power, her position and exploited families. David Solfanelli do your homework! Shame on you Danielle. I hope they give you life for all the lives you have forever altered on your power trip!
Patricia P.
February 15, 2013 at 8:26 pm
