Why did Lisa Moore do it? Why didn’t the Kennett Township supervisors realize what was going on? And what has been done since? Residents have repeatedly asked questions like those since the April 2019 discovery that Moore, the former township manager, had been embezzling what would later be identified as $3.2 million in township funds. Those questions and others were addressed in a special Kennett…
A civil action is ongoing in the case of former Kennett Township Manager Lisa Moore’s embezzlement of $3.249 million from the township. “We are currently negotiating with several parties about civil responsibilities, which means we can’t talk about them yet,” Supervisor Scudder Stevens said at a special public meeting Tuesday. “We are also considering legal action against several parties.” Joseph Poluka, a lawyer with the…
Two years ago, the Kennett Township supervisors held a public meeting after the former township manager was charged with stealing more than $3.2 million from the municipality. On Dec. 7, the supervisors will again hold a public meeting about Lisa Moore, this time updating what has happened since. Moore pleaded guilty Oct. 4 to theft by deception, dealing in unlawful proceeds, forgery, tampering with public…
Kennett Township supervisors are expected to decide Wednesday whether to include in next year’s budget a tax increase for future capital projects. The 0.2-mil increase would mean an average annual increase of $49 for residents, according to township Finance Director Amy Heinrich. (A mil is $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value.) The supervisors are scheduled to approve the proposed budget for advertisement on Wednesday,…
Betrayal and distrust were common themes in victim impact statements from current and former Kennett Township supervisors, a former township employee, and township residents. Victim impact letters, 13 in all, sent to Chester County Judge David F. Bortner all spoke of how former township Manager Lisa Moore, who embezzled $3.2 million in township funds, hurt and betrayed those she was tasked with serving. “There is…
The $1.27 million check from former Kennett Township Manager Lisa Moore — representing partial repayment of the $3.2 million she pleaded guilty to embezzling — has cleared the bank, supervisors reported last week. The supervisors are also planning a public meeting sometime after Moore’s 30-day appeal period ends to discuss the case further with their residents. Township Manager Eden Ratliff said the Chester County District…
Chester County Common Pleas Court Judge David Bortner Monday sentenced former Kennett Township Manager Lisa Moore to three to 10 years in prison for embezzling more than $3.2 million. Moore must also make restitution. The sentence — negotiated by Deputy District Attorney William Judge Jr. and Moore's attorney, Julia Rogers — was based on an agreement that Moore would plead guilty to five of more…
Colin Vanicolo and Jonathan DeLeon became the Kennett Township Police Department’s newest officers over the last 19 months, but COVID-19 prevented their families from watching them be sworn in. Their families got that chance on Sept. 15 during a special swearing-in ceremony, held outside the township building. The officers, according to Kennett Township Police Chief Matt Gordon, were “sworn in during COVID originally, but the…
Kennett Township residents and businesses will have an opportunity to tell a judge how they were impacted by the former township manager allegedly embezzling $3.2 million from Kennett Township. Victim impact statements can be sent over email from now until Sept. 24 to Chester County Court of Common Pleas Judge David F. Bortner, who is presiding over Lisa Moore’s scheduled guilty plea on Oct. 4.…
Former Kennett Township Manager Lisa Moore is expected to plead guilty and be sentenced next month on charges she embezzled $3.2 million from Kennett Township. That announcement was made Wednesday night in an email that supervisors’ Chairman Richard Leff sent out to the community after the supervisors’ meeting was canceled when the remnants of Hurricane Ida passed through the area. “At this evening’s Board of…
The Kennett Library Board of Trustees will host a groundbreaking for the new Kennett Library and Resource Center on Thursday, Aug. 12 at 9 a.m. It will take place at the location of the new building, the corner of State and Willow Streets in the Borough of Kennett Square. All are welcome to attend. “For over 20 years community members have planned, worked, and dreamt…