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Ex-Home & School aide admits theft
Greg Wade, who once held school officials accountable as the head of the city's largest parents' group, held himself accountable in court yesterday.
The disgraced ex-president of the Philadelphia Home and School Council pleaded guilty to four counts of felony theft and agreed to pay a minimum of $115,000 in restitution to his victims, said Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Liermann.
"It's a travesty that someone put in this position of trust would do something like this to our kids and the city, given the dire financial straits that many of these children are in, as well as the financial crisis we are all in," Liermann said.
Wade, of Dora Drive near Chalfont, in the Northeast, faces up to 28 years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 17, his 54th birthday, Liermann said. He is free on bail.
From 2006 until shortly before he was arrested last Nov. 10, Wade systematically cleaned out the three Home and School bank accounts to which he had access by writing 145 checks for his personal use, Liermann said.
Some of the money that Wade stole was intended to fund $500 college scholarships for students.
He has agreed to pay $93,410 to the council and $10,000 to a Jenkintown auto dealership for the depreciation of a Dodge Journey SUV for which he paid $32,000 with two checks from the council's accounts, Liermann said. When the checks bounced, Wade returned the vehicle with more than 4,000 miles on the odometer, Liermann said.
Wade also has agreed to pay $15,000 to Gloria Carrea, whom he hired to work for the parents' group but never paid. It has not been determined how much he will have to pay to his sister-in-law, Patricia MacKowsky, who also was hired but never paid, Liermann said.
The Home and School Council is a volunteer organization that assists in forming parent groups in the city's public schools. Wade was treasurer before becoming president.
He often attended School Reform Commission meetings to chide officials over their management and financial oversight of the school district.
Yesterday, it was Wade who heard about himself.
"I think that it's a real tragedy that he chose to operate as he did," said Gerald Wright, a founder of another volunteer group, Parents United for Public Education. "In working with him, he often was willing to take stands on issues that matter to the schoolchildren.
"On the other hand, he obviously was making some financial decisions that were not in the interest of the children."
Liermann said that the fact that Wade is a first-time criminal offender will be factored into the sentence that he will recommend to the judge.
"It certainly plays a part, but, just as important, is the amount of money he stole, the violation of trust and the impact it has on the students of Philadelphia," Liermann said. *
