Upper Darby's director of parking enforcement resigned after she was arrested and charged with stealing money from parking meters.
During the Upper Darby Township Council meeting Wednesday night, Upper Darby Mayor Barbarann Keffer announced Sekela Coles, 45, had resigned as the town's parking enforcement director, effective immediately.
On Monday Coles, who had served as Upper Darby’s director of parking enforcement for just over three years, was charged with theft, receiving stolen property and related charges after a months-long investigation into her conduct, according to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
The charges relate to Coles' alleged misuse of funds collected from parking meters, Stollsteimer said.
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“All of us working in government have a sacred trust to act in the best interest of our communities. The defendant was entrusted with one of the basic functions of government – collecting parking meter money and depositing the cash. However, rather than acting in the best interest of the citizens of Upper Darby, the defendant is alleged to have taken a portion of the parking meter cash and used it for the purchase of food, birthday cakes, office parties, and restaurant trips for the defendant and her staff. This kind of behavior erodes public trust and must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Stollsteimer said in a statement.
In addition, the DA alleged that Coles voided parking violations for her family members.
According to Stollsteimer, investigators believe Coles allegedly told employees to give all the coins collected from parking meters to an employee in her office, who would convert the coins into cash that Coles would then store in her own desk.
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In an interview with officers, Stollsteimer claimed, Coles admitted to using these funds for "the purchase of food, birthday cakes, office parties, and restaurant trips for her and her staff."
Overall, Stollsteimer claimed that Coles has stolen $4,314, though about $2037 of that had been returned.
In a statement, Stollsteimer claimed that Coles told officers that she used the parking meter funds as a "petty cash" fund to be used by her office.
Court documents note that charges were filed on Monday and Coles is awaiting a preliminary hearing.
Prior to her resignation, Coles was placed on administrative leave.
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