Officials: Ridley schools' payroll boss stole to gamble

0 Comments | Philadelphia Daily News, December, 2007 | by WILLIAM BENDER benderw@phillynews.com 215-854-5255

After spending Christmas in jail, Ridley School District's former payroll coordinator, Carol Ackley, might want to consider a two-part New Year's resolution.

Because if she quits gambling first, she'll find it that much easier to stop embezzling thousands of dollars to fund casino trips around the country, as police allege.

Police say Ackley, 57, has admitted to using her district position to contrive a secret banking scheme that fooled auditors for years.

Ackley, who had worked for the district since 1988, was arrested Friday after Superintendent Nicholas Ignatuk reported to Ridley police that Wachovia Bank's fraud unit had detected "unusual activity" in the district's pensioners'-hospitalization account.

An investigation found that Ackley had deposited...