Fourth official in Bucks corruption case gets probation
His involvement in the practice of forcing employees to work the polls and paying them with comp time was less than that of his three co-defendants, prosecutors said.
The fourth official charged in the Bucks County Register of Wills corruption case received two years' probation Monday because "his role was minor compared to the other three," prosecutors said.
James McCullen, 76, was charged with forcing employees to work the polls for Republican candidates on the county's dime. His boss, Barbara Reilly, and two other assistants have already pleaded guilty and are scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 9.
"There absolutely is a distinction between McCullen and the other three," Chief Deputy District Attorney Robin Twombly said after the hearing in county court. "We weren't willing to say there was no involvement, but based on his involvement, his background and it being a nonviolent misdemeanor," the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program "is the appropriate outcome."
The terms of the ARD, which is for first-time offenders, call for McCullen to serve 500 hours of community service and to pay court costs and restitution.
McCullen, an Air Force veteran, already volunteers 30 to 40 hours a month for the Coast Guard Auxiliary and his church, and he is looking into other charities, said his lawyer, David Knight.
McCullen, who resigned from his job as first deputy last week after nearly 23 1/2 years in the office, told the judge, "I'm sorry all this happened. This has been very stressful for me and my family."
Philadelphia Senior Judge John Braxton, who is handling the case to avoid conflicts of interest with Bucks County judges, replied: "You know the good things you have done in your life. ... I believe you are a man of substance ... and hope you will continue to do good things in the community."
The outcome "is what we had asked for from Day 1," Knight said. "There's always a risk with a jury trial. With ARD, he'll have a clean record. He's a very decent, honorable man who unfortunately got caught up in politics."
Reilly, who reigned over the Register of Wills office for 35 years, pleaded guilty this month to creating the system of forcing employees to work the polls on Election Day, which is a county holiday, and paying them with comp time. Second Deputy Rebecca Kiefer and administrator Candace Quinn also pleaded guilty to destroying records of the comp time and no contest to theft.
Reilly, who resigned, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years, and Kiefer and Quinn face a possible 33 years, though the terms are expected to be considerably less.
The charges were recommended in a 240-page investigative grand jury presentment issued in March, and the District Attorney's office continued the investigation since then, Twombly said.
"The other three cases kept getting better, and the McCullen case kept getting worse," she said. "Based on the evidence, this was the right thing to do."