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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
that a former teacher at the H.B. Wilson
Elementary School in Camden pleaded guilty
today to a theft charge for her role in
a scheme to bill the Camden Board of Education
$25,000 for School Leadership Council meetings
that never took place.
Keah
Worthy, 33, of Evesham, pleaded guilty to
a third-degree charge of attempted theft
by deception before Superior Court Judge
Stephen M. Holden in Camden. The state will
recommend a sentence of probation for Worthy.
Worthy previously resigned her teaching
position and will be permanently barred
from public employment in New Jersey.
Judge
Holden scheduled Worthy’s sentencing
for Dec. 5.
In
pleading guilty, Worthy admitted that as
a member of the School Leadership Council
for Wilson Elementary School, she submitted
false paperwork in an attempt to be paid
for attendance at Student Leadership Council
meetings that never took place.
Deputy
Attorneys General Susan Kase and Vincent
J. Militello of the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Bureau are prosecuting
the case and took the guilty plea.
Worthy
was indicted by a state grand jury on March
19, 2007 along with former Wilson School
principal Michael Hailey, 67, of Delran;
his former top administrator, Patricia Johnson,
59, of Atco; and Worthy’s mother,
Juanita Worthy, 61, of Evesham, the former
principal at the U.S. Wiggins School in
Camden. The indictment stemmed from an investigation
by the State Police Official Corruption
Unit and the Division of Criminal Justice
Corruption Bureau.
The
indictment charged the four defendants with
attempting to bill the Camden Board of Education
more than $25,000 in extra wages for 14
School Leadership Council members in connection
with eight meetings that never took place.
The defendants allegedly pressured teachers
from the Wilson and Wiggins schools to sign
blank attendance sheets for meetings of
each school’s School Leadership Council,
an advisory group of school stakeholders
that includes teachers, administrative staff
and community representatives.
Johnson
prepared vouchers and submitted them to
the school board requesting payment for
the fictitious meetings. However, the school
board never paid for the meetings because
it discovered
they
had not been held. The defendants were also
charged in the indictment with witness tampering
in connection with a board investigation
into the false vouchers. It is charged that
once the board commenced the investigation,
the defendants pressured teachers into telling
the board that meetings were held and work
was completed.
As
part of the same indictment, Hailey and
Johnson were indicted on charges they conspired
to steal more than $14,000 from students
and teachers by tricking them into paying
for field trips that were paid for by the
school district. The indictment charged
that Hailey and Johnson told teachers at
Wilson Elementary that field trips were
to be paid for by the students’ parents,
even though Hailey and Johnson had prepared,
signed and submitted paperwork to the school
board for the trips and knew they were approved
for payment by the district.
On
Jan. 28, 2008, Johnson pleaded guilty to
a charge of second-degree conspiracy in
connection with the field trip scheme. She
also pleaded guilty to a charge of third-degree
attempted theft by deception in connection
with the false vouchers for School Leadership
Council meetings. The state will recommend
a sentence of three to five years in state
prison for Johnson. She is also scheduled
to be sentenced by Judge Holden on Dec.
5.
Hailey,
Johnson and Juanita Worthy were suspended
with pay by the school board in May 2006
after the board’s investigation into
the School Leadership Council vouchers.
They retired in July 2006 while facing disciplinary
action by the district. Keah Worthy resigned
from her teaching position during the board’s
investigation.
The
charges in the indictment remain pending
against Hailey and Juanita Worthy. The indictment
is merely an accusation and they are presumed
innocent until proven guilty.
Attorney
General Milgram thanked Superintendent Rick
Fuentes and the State Police Official Corruption
Unit for leading the investigation. She
credited Sgt. Gary D. Sandes, who led the
investigation, Detective Gregory Shawaryn
and Lt. Gerard A. McHugh of the State Police,
and Detective Anthony Luyber of the Division
of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau.
Attorney
General Milgram noted that the Division
of Criminal Justice has established a statewide
Corruption Tipline: 1-866-TIPS-4CJ. Additionally,
the public can log on to the Division’s
Web page at www.njdcj.org
to report suspected wrongdoing. All information
received through the Division of Criminal
Justice Corruption Tipline or Web page will
remain confidential.
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