A former secretary sentenced last year for stealing more than $300,000 from Drumore Township has declared bankruptcy.
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Anna B. Morris, of the 1100 block of Pilgrim's Pathway, Peach Bottom, filed the Chapter 13 petition July 31, according to documents in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Under Chapter 13, a debtor proposes a repayment plan.
The proceeding will not impact Drumore because Morris and the township's bond company, Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America, have already reimbursed the township, Supervisor Jim Wingler said.
Judge Joseph C. Madenspacher ordered Morris last year to pay $339,435 in restitution.
Morris handed over $95,000 to the township at her July 22, 2008 sentencing, according to township solicitor Kim Carter Paterson.
Of that payment, Paterson said, $45,000 went to cover the cost of the investigation of Morris and $50,000 was applied toward the $304,935 balance that Travelers agreed to pay the township.
"The township did not receive any further payments from Mrs. Morris," Paterson said in an e-mail.
"Even though the surety bond company paid the claim for damages to the township," she added, "Mrs. Morris remains liable for the restitution assessed against her."
Morris has made nine monthly payments of $60 each since last November, according to court documents.
Case papers show that $500 of that money was applied toward the insurance company restitution while the remaining $40 went toward the total court cost and fee assessment of $4,964.
Morris still owes $248,959 in restitution, according to court papers.
Besides Travelers and Morris' husband, William H. Morris, creditors listed in the bankruptcy documents include Susquehanna Bank; Paul T. DeVlieger, a Philadelphia attorney; Lancaster County Adult Probation; and Fia CSNA, a credit card company.
Attorney Robert D. Beyer, who represented Morris in the theft case, said she was always adamant about returning the township's money as soon as possible.
The attorney said he had not spoken recently with Morris, and that he learned of the bankruptcy when he read about it in the paper.
Morris, 67, did not return two calls to her residence.
A call Friday to the office of John A. Digiamberardino, the Wyomissing attorney representing Morris in the bankruptcy case, was not returned.
Kolin McCauley, chairman of the Drumore Township supervisors, also did not return repeated calls.
Morris was township secretary for 31 years before resigning in 2006.
She pleaded guilty to stealing the money between 2001 and 2006, according to newspaper records. Investigators accused her of making "fraudulent transactions" to pay credit-card debt, give money to relatives, invest in a personal retirement account and purchase clothing and electronics.
Several other township employees who also allegedly benefited from the misappropriations were not charged and their names have not been reported.
Jon Rutter is a staff writer for the Sunday News. His e-mail address is jrutter@lnpnews.com.
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