Susanna Foo accepts community service; charges to be dropped

Whether restaurant owner Susanna Foo hit or touched a Philadelphia Parking Authority enforcement officer was not answered in Municipal Court this morning or afterward. The District Attorney's Office and lawyers defending Foo told Judge Francis Cosgrove that they had reached an agreement in which Foo will enter a pretrial diversionary program known as ARD, or Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, which allows nonviolent first-time offenders to avoid lengthy pretrial delays and a possible trial.

By going into the ARD program, Foo is not pleading guilty to any charges. She will instead be on probation for the next six months and will spend 50 hours performing community service. Foo will give free cooking lessons to the poor in a church setting. Foo, 63, of Villanova, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing this morning. The hearing was not held following the announcement of the ARD agreement. Foo was accused of striking Parking Authority officer ...