In 1988, Judge Joe O’Kicki was regarded by many of his peers as one of the most brilliant legal minds in the country. Newly remarried and sworn in as the president judge of Cambria County, he had ambitions for a seat on a federal bench. But a state police vice unit was in the midst of a covert investigation into O’Kicki’s personal affairs. He was accused of soliciting bribes, protecting illegal gambling interests and running the county as if it was his personal fiefdom. When he was found guilty on corruption charges and set to serve jail time, he fled to central Europe, becoming an international fugitive. Using courtroom testimony, contemporary interviews and excerpts from O’Kicki’s unfinished memoir, author Bruce Siwy freshly examines the extraordinary case that captured headlines across the state and nation.

Bruce Siwy has a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Pittsburgh and is employed as the managing editor of the Daily American newspaper in Somerset. His résumé includes Associated Press Managing Editors and Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Professional Keystone Media awards in the spot news, sports column writing, sports, business, investigative reporting, column, enterprise reporting and podcast categories. He lives in Western Pennsylvania with his wife and kids. You can follow him on Twitter at @BruceSiwy.

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