Ex-cop gets 3 years for stealing from charter school he ran
A former chief executive officer of the Philadelphia Academy Charter School, in Northeast Philadelphia, was sentenced yesterday to three years in a federal lockup for stealing between $400,000 and $1 million from the school and for filing a false tax return.
NOTE: THIS STORY HAS BEEN CORRECTED.
A former chief executive officer of the Philadelphia Academy Charter School, in Northeast Philadelphia, was sentenced yesterday to three years in a federal lockup for stealing between $400,000 and $1 million from the school and for filing a false tax return.
U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno ordered Kevin O'Shea, 50, of Northeast Philadelphia, to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on Dec. 7.
Robreno said that O'Shea's crimes had been "fueled by sheer greed" and had "deprived" schoolchildren of funds intended for their education.
"The defendant, a former police officer, should have known better," Robreno said. "He disregarded that training and broke the law."
The judge also ordered O'Shea to make restitution of $900,000 to Philadelphia Academy and forfeit $500,000 to the government. The estate of the school's late founder, Brien Gardiner, who committed suicide, has already paid $675,000 in restitution and O'Shea has paid $75,000.
Robreno sentenced O'Shea at the top of the advisory guideline range of 30 to 37 months after he heard testimony from the parents of two children who attended Philadelphia Academy.
Megan Galo told the judge that O'Shea was a "bully" and had used his position as CEO to "gain wealth and power at the expense of the children."
A second parent testified that her daughter had fallen behind academically because resources intended for her education had been diverted by O'Shea.
Afterward, Galo said that Robreno's sentence "sent a message" to other charter-school operators who might contemplate similar financial crimes.
Prior to sentencing, O'Shea told Robreno that he had "betrayed" the trust of parents and children at Philadelphia Academy. "I have done wrong and I must pay for what I've done," he said.
Family members told Robreno that O'Shea was a good man who cared for his ailing parents and helped strangers.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Cohen said that the sentence reflected the seriousness of O'Shea's crimes.
Defense attorney Peter Hardy said: "The court has spoken and we respect the sentence."
O'Shea, who had only a high-school diploma and no administrative experience, was hired by Philadelphia Academy in 1999. The school enrolls almost 1,200 students in kindergarten through 12th grade on two campuses in the far Northeast - one on Roosevelt Boulevard and the other on Tomlinson Road.
By September 2002, then-CEO Gardiner - who was a target of the probe and who killed himself in May - hired O'Shea as director of operations.
Five years later, O'Shea replaced Gardiner as CEO at Gardiner's behest, authorities said.
When O'Shea left the school in May 2008, he was making $204,000 annually. The feds said that the salary had been approved only by board president Rosemary DiLacqua.
DiLacqua, 61, a retired police officer from the Northeast once nominated for the Daily News' Fencl Award, is to be sentenced in December. She faces 30 to 37 months behind bars under advisory sentencing guidelines.
She pleaded guilty in July to accepting $34,000 in secret payments and loans from O'Shea and Gardiner and then awarding them hefty raises and lucrative contracts.
O'Shea's cooperation led to the charges against DiLacqua.
Authorities said that O'Shea and Gardiner were involved in numerous fraudulent activities between March 2002 and May 2008.
The feds said that they demanded kickbacks from school vendors; submitted bogus invoices for reimbursement of at least $40,000 for personal expenses, including gas and phone bills; improperly billed $50,000 in home repairs to Philadelphia Academy, and collected and then pocketed $34,000 in rent from entities using Philadelphia Academy facilities.
A story in Friday's Daily News about the former chief executive officer of Philadelphia Academy Charter School incorrectly reported that the son of Megan Galo, who attended the school, is autistic. He is not.