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WILKES-BARRE — Robert J. Kulick, a reputed mob associate known for his role in the Luzerne County judicial corruption scandal, died last week at age 67.

Kulick, a Pittston native and longtime Bear Creek township resident, passed away at Timber Ridge Health Care Center on May 12, according to an obituary notice sent to the Times Leader.

Kulick might be best known for his cooperation with prosecutors in exposing a case-fixing scheme involving former Luzerne County judges.

Following subsequent legal proceedings that included Kulick’s testimony, judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan both received lengthy prison sentences.

According to Times Leader archives, Kulick was an associate of William D’Elia, then the reputed boss of the Bufalino crime family and a friend of Conahan.

In 2011, Kulick was released from prison after serving just 17 months of a 37-month sentence for illegal possession of firearms, in part because of his cooperation. The court also cited previous judicial error in determining the length of his sentence.

During his incarceration, Kulick admitted to having a severe problem with alcoholism, and voluntarily enrolled in an intensive treatment program.

At the time, his attorneys said Kulick had volunteered to tutor other inmates and had participated in a gardening program.

“The last 17 months have been life-changing for me,” Kulick said in 2009. “I realized how much I love my sobriety, how much I love my family and how much I am loved by my family.”

Kulick’s however, seemingly relapsed into his addiction in the last several years, and was in the midst of a divorce filed in 2011 from wife Michelle, who he had married in 1992 and with whom he had several children.

Kulick had served as a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Daniel J. Flood during the latter’s federal trial on bribery, conspiracy and perjury charges in 1979, speaking in Flood’s stead when he stepped in as chairman of the appropriations subcommittee for labor, health, education and welfare.

Kulick’s obituary was brief, and said a Mass of Christian burial will on Saturday at St. Therese Church, Shavertown.

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Kulick
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_kulick.jpg.optimal.jpgKulick

By Geri Gibbons

[email protected]

Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons