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Ex-dispatcher gets 14 months for tipping off tow drivers

A former Philadelphia police dispatcher was sentenced to 14 months in prison Tuesday for tipping off favored tow-truck operators to auto accidents in exchange for kickbacks.

A former Philadelphia police dispatcher was sentenced to 14 months in prison Tuesday for tipping off favored tow-truck operators to auto accidents in exchange for kickbacks.

Dorian Parsley, 44, of Philadelphia, told U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno that through her crimes, she hurt "a lot of people.

"What I did was wrong. . . . I have to pay for my actions. I'm sorry for what I did." she said.

In addition to the prison term, Parsley received one year of supervised release and a $1,000 fine.

Parsley, a dispatcher for 16 years, pleaded guilty in July to charges of conspiracy, bribery, and fraud.

Between February 2001 and December 2014, she collected more than $35,000 from three tow-truck operators for texting them with the locations of accidents and disabled vehicles.

By alerting the drivers, she bypassed a rotating list of tow-truck drivers that was implemented in 2011 after several incidents of wreck-chasing, price-gouging, and violence between tow-truck drivers competing for accident-removal jobs.

Robreno found that Parsley was a leader in the scheme and that her status as a dispatcher gave her control over others.

"Whenever the drivers failed to pay her for two weeks, the scheme stopped," Robreno said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Brenner told the court, "This bribe-taker was providing information that she alone had access to. The decision making power rested with her."

Robreno said sentencing guidelines called for Parsley, a military veteran, to receive from 32 to 46 months in prison.

In ordering the reduced sentence, the judge noted that Parsley cooperated with investigators and wore a hidden recorder while implicating the others.

She was ordered to turn herself in Dec. 5 to begin her sentence.

At the request of defense attorney Jonathan J. Sobel, the judge said he would recommend that she serve her time at Fort Dix so she could be near relatives.

Parsley's three coconspirators have pleaded guilty to various charges.

William Cheeseman, 42, owner of K&B Auto Body in Northeast Philadelphia, will be sentenced Friday; Chad Harris, a tow-truck driver, will be sentenced Oct. 31; and tow-truck driver Stephon Flowers, 24, will be sentenced on Nov. 25.