Top Phila. court official fired in alleged theft of $78K

A veteran Philadelphia deputy court administrator who won national acclaim for her work to change the city's court records offices was fired earlier this year for allegedly stealing $78,000, a court official confirmed Thursday.

Deborah E. Dailey, 53, a 34-year court employee, was fired in May after the alleged theft was discovered, said Philadelphia Court Administrator Joseph H. Evers, confirming a report published Thursday in the Legal Intelligencer.

Dailey could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Common Pleas Court records show that the alleged theft happened during a financial crisis for Dailey and her husband, Richard.

In January, JP Morgan Chase N.A., which held the mortgage on the Daileys' Somerton home, began foreclosure proceedings because they were $68,448 in arrears. On April 21, court records show, the foreclosure was withdrawn after the amount was paid in full.

Evers, who worked closely with Dailey in changing the operations of the civil and criminal court clerks offices, said he did not wish to comment further because the matter had been referred to the District Attorney's Office for prosecution.

Tasha Jamerson, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office, said her office does not comment unless criminal charges have been filed.

Just two years ago, The Inquirer described the turnabout Evers and Dailey achieved in the court's long-troubled record-keeping operation.

The Inquirer reported in 2010 how what was then known as the Clerk of Quarter Sessions office - responsible for maintaining criminal case records, and collecting fines and forfeited bail - could not account for $1 billion in forfeited bail owed the city.

The effort abolished the antiquated Quarter Sessions operation, retired its elected clerk, and reassigned its duties to the regular court administration. Officials began going after those who owed forfeited bail money, and collection doubled within two years.

In the 1990s, Evers and Dailey were the key players in a massive effort to help the Philadelphia civil court operation dig out of a backlog of 36,000 lawsuits. The results led to the National Center for State Courts to name Philadelphia's civil court system as the best in the nation among large urban systems.

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