Police dispatcher pleads to taking bribes from tow truck operators for crash tips

A Philadelphia police dispatcher faces up to 35 years prison after pleading guilty today to accepting bribes from tow truck operators in exchange for confidential information.

Dorian Parsley, 44, typically took $100 to $200 for providing tips about the locations of car accidents and the locations of police department squad cars. She admitted that she received $35,400 in bribes, according to federal prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Parsley would text the information she learned from her personal cellphone to the tow truck operators. For an additional fee, Parsley ran the license plates and registration through her dispatch computer so the tow operators would have the name and addresses of the vehicle owners. A co-defendant, William Cheeseman, also pleaded guilty to a count of bribery for paying Parsley bribes for tips on crash locations, federal prosecutors said.

In addition to the prison term, Parsley faces a $750,000 fine and three years of supervised release when she is sentenced October 21. Cheeseman faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on October 24.