By JOHN ANASTASI staff writer |
The district attorney said Barbara G. Reilly and her top administrators forced employees to do political work ‘off the books.'
In a scathing 240-page report, a grand jury described Bucks County's register of wills as an "office run by intimidation and deception" by longtime chief Barbara G. Reilly and her top administrators.
The grand jury found that it was also a place where politics drove management decisions, petty theft was rampant and Reilly and her team conspired for years to force employees to do political work for Republican candidates every Election Day and then rewarded them with "off-the-books" time off.
The eight-month grand jury investigation ended last week and recommended criminal charges against Reilly, 74, of Bensalem; Rebecca Kiefer, 64, of Warrington; Candace Quinn, 53, of Falls; and James McCullen, 75, of Bristol Township. District Attorney David Heckler filed complaints against all four Friday morning.
"All four of the defendants oppressed public employees by forcing them to engage in political work both within and outside of work hours," Heckler said during a Friday morning press conference announcing the charges.
Reilly, Kiefer and Quinn stole from the county "by means of the awarding of so-called ‘off the book' comp time for political work performed by those employees," Heckler said. While McCullen was not directly involved in the awarding of comp time, the grand jury report found that he knew what was going on and did nothing to stop it.
With their attorneys, all four turned themselves in Friday afternoon at the Bensalem Police Department. They were later arraigned at District Judge Maggie Snow's court in Buckingham.
McCullen's attorney David Knight, of Doylestown's Fioravanti & Knight in Doylestown, defended his client outside of the Bensalem Police Department.
"Jim didn't know about any illegal activity," Knight said. "It's our intention to show he is innocent of any and all alleged wrongdoing. He's a lifelong resident and public servant and he's never had a problem with the law in his life. We're looking forward to the chance to prove he's a decent guy."
Reilly, Kiefer and Quinn and their attorneys declined to comment on the charges Friday afternoon. But the grand jury report outlined what they are accused of doing.
In 1976, Reilly became the first woman to serve as register of wills in Bucks County's history. The office probates wills and handles documents needed to administer estates. In Bucks, the register of wills is also clerk of the orphans' court.
Reilly has long been considered a political powerhouse for the Republican Party. In fact, former Democratic county commissioner Sandy Miller once remarked that "No one wins against Barbara Reilly."
"There is always a hue and cry at election time to round up people to cover the polls and I've been aware of her excellent reputation for getting people to turn out," said Heckler, who is a Republican. "I was blown away to now know that they were being paid under the table with public dollars."
Complaints about the office last March reached the Bucks County Controller Raymond McHugh, who found that over a number of years, Reilly and her staff directed employees to hand out literature at polling places on Election Days and take compensation time off for duties that had nothing to do with the office's responsibilities.
"This crime is really about arrogance and a sense of entitlement," said McHugh, who added his investigators were repeatedly "stonewalled and misled."
McHugh, who is also a Republican, believed their offenses could be criminal, so he informed the district attorney. A grand jury was convened in July and spent the next eight months hearing testimony from 35 witnesses, including both former and current register of wills office employees.
Witnesses, at least one of whom reportedly said "this place is out of control," recounted episodes in which employees were tasked to put up and take down political signs for Republican candidates, to spend lunch breaks at Republican Headquarters stuffing envelopes and to take around political petitions for Reilly's re-election.
The orders sometimes caused arguments, "screaming matches" and resignations.
In one case, Quinn reportedly ordered an employee to work the polls, even though the employee wanted to stay home with her sick husband on what was supposed to be a paid county holiday. In another case, a witness testified that all employees' voting records were scrutinized.
One witness told the grand jury that Kiefer, a former Warrington supervisor who stepped down last year, was "tyrannical and abusive" and "ran the office through a mixture of accusations, yelling, belittling and fear."
One witness testified that an employee was forced to go to Kiefer's home to "wait for the cable guy." Others ran personal errands for her.
Last year, Kiefer considered running for Reilly's seat if she opted not to seek re-election. Upon learning another employee was weighing a run the employee was "harassed and reprimanded and picked on every day." After four months, she had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized, the report said.
Reilly testified before the grand jury and pleaded the Fifth Amendment two dozen times.
The investigation turned up other problems as well.
It found that office workers, particularly Quinn and Kiefer, would routinely buy sodas and lunches with money residents paid to use the copy machines and pocket proceeds from the sale of various forms instead of submitting those funds to the county.
Heckler said it was unclear how long the abuse was occurring, but having employees work the polls in exchange for "off the books" comp time likely went on for decades under Reilly's watch.
"One of the difficulties when you're talking about someone who's been in office for 35 years is interviewing every witness we can find," said Heckler. "Of those that admitted the practice, all of them say it was going on when they arrived."
Some witnesses did deny the practice, but Heckler said he believes there was enough evidence to support charges against Reilly and the three employees, despite the shredding of hundreds of documents - reportedly by Quinn and Kiefer - after it became clear the controller's office was asking questions last March.
"This was a thorough, professional, diligent investigation and the prosecution will be the same," he said.
Heckler pointed out that the employees were not supporting just Reilly in her re-election bids. They were working for entire slates of Republican candidates.
A statement from the GOP Friday expressed sadness over the allegations and appreciation for the good work done by Reilly, who is not seeking re-election.
"We are confident that the majority of the 24 employees of the register of wills office were not involved in this matter, and these hard-working and diligent employees should not be disparaged, either directly or by association, for the actions of a few of their co-workers," it said. "We must also express our regret that such a long and distinguished career in public service will be forever tarnished by these allegations."
It expresses confidence in Republicans Heckler and McHugh and credits them for doing their jobs without regard to political affiliations. Don Petrille Jr., who is running for Reilly's seat with the Republican endorsement, echoed that sentiment.
"The charges against Barbara Reilly and three staff members are serious and deserve scrutiny," he said in a statement. "No one should relish seeing a long-serving public official charged with a breach of the public trust. I commend ... Heckler and ... McHugh, both Republicans, for conducting a thorough and fair investigation and for being unbiased by party affiliation."
He also pledged to bring "a fresh perspective" if elected.
Democratic county Commissioner Diane Marseglia said political corruption in the courthouse does not end with the register of wills office.
For instance, she said, county elections director Deena Dean testified two years ago that she felt pressure from county Republicans to move the Creekside Apartments polling place in Bensalem out of the left-leaning apartment complex.
"I hope my fellow commissioners join me in thanking the employees who came forward and letting other employees know that we'll protect you," she said. "We want to clean this place up."
Commissioner Charley Martin said he was unaware of any trouble in the register of wills office.
"I've known (Reilly) for a long time and I never got a complaint about how she did her job at the office," Martin said. "Whatever else happened within that office is something I'm not privy to."
All four defendants were arraigned late Friday afternoon. All were released on unsecured bail and ordered to have no contact with the alleged victims or witnesses, over the objections or Reilly's attorney Mike Goodwin, who argued those people were her employees and that would prevent her from doing her job.
District Judge Snow said she wasn't attempting to remove Reilly from office and she wasn't going to try and tell Reilly how to run the register of wills. She suggested that how to comply with the no contact condition while operating the register of wills might be an issue for the court of common pleas.
Heckler said he was optimistic that the defendants would be successfully prosecuted.
"The people of Bucks County will take back their row office," Heckler said Friday when he announced the charges. "That office will be taken from those who this prosecution will find where unworthy of it."
Reilly has held the post since 1976 and earns $84,128 per year. Quinn has been with the office since 1992 and earns $60,775 per year. Kiefer started with the office in 1985 and retired in August making $65,775. McCullen was hired in 1988 and earns $73,197 per year.
Staff Writers Matt Coughlin and Laurie Mason contributed to this report.
John Anastasi can be reached at 215-345-3067 or at janastasi@phillyBurbs.com. Follow John on Twitter at twitter.com/buckscountybeat.