Former Upper Darby director of parking enforcement's case heading to trial, judge rules
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) -- Sekela Coles was the director of Upper Darby's parking enforcement before charges of theft, receiving stolen property and obstruction were filed last summer. She resigned.
A judge on Monday ruled prosecutors presented enough evidence to send the case to trial.
The case came to light after a CBS News Philadelphia investigation separately exposed questions about how the township delayed sending thousands of parking tickets to district courts for processing.
In 2022, prosecutors say Coles directed an employee to take coins collected from Upper Darby parking kiosks to the employee's personal credit union.
The coins were converted into cash and the cash was brought back to the office and placed in a desk drawer, according to investigators.
A worker testified the money was used by Coles for petty cash -- allegedly for parking, staff birthdays at restaurants and for lunch meetings.
Investigators say on one weekend -- more than $2,000 in coins was cashed in.
CBS Philadelphia tried asking Coles about it.
Joe Holden: "Do you believe there was nothing wrong with using that money?"
Coles' attorney, William Davis, interrupted before she could answer, saying she would not discuss details of the case.
"She never took any money personally, she didn't take any money to put in her own bank account," Davis said.
"She never took any money to buy vacations for herself, cars, jewelry, none of that ever happened," he added.
Holden: "Dinners, though, were an appropriate use of parking money?"
"Staff, it's staff," Davis responded, adding Coles believed it was an appropriate use.
Trouble in the parking enforcement office started back more than a year ago.
On a tip, CBS Philadelphia confirmed 18,000 parking violations were backlogged and never sent to the local courts for adjudication.
That cost the township $1.5 million in parking violation income, according to an estimate by township officials last year.
A day after our story broke, township council ordered an audit and a copy of it was given to the DA's office.
The audit showed major technological breakdowns and human error in how parking tickets were never processed. A worker testified Coles directed her not to tell auditors about the coins.
And about those 18,000 tickets were only sent to the courts after CBS Philadelphia started pursuing township officials for answers.
A federal lawsuit has since been filed against the township, and last month, it cleared another legal hurdle with a judge rejecting a move by the township to have it thrown out.
Coles is due back in court for a formal arraignment on these charges in early May.