Former Conshohocken Official Sentenced For Embezzlement

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- The former office manager for the Conshohocken Sewer Authority, in Montgomery County, is headed to jail for at least 11½ months after admitting she embezzled more than $167,000 of taxpayer money.

Tracy Connelly acknowledged forging checks and making online bank transfers over a two-year period. The thefts were uncovered after an annual audit raised some suspicions that authority money was missing.

Connelly, 40, was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in jail, followed by 19 years' probation -- plenty of time to repay the money.

Afterward, Montgomery County prosecutor John Gradel said the sentence was appropriate because Connelly had tapped the authority's coffers to pay her own bills.

"If her car needed repairs, the borough paid for it. If her kid wanted to go to the shore for a week, the borough paid for the house for the entire week. If she wanted to get her nails done, the borough paid for it."

On the stand, Connelly called what she did "stupid and selfish" and told the judge she was a single mom who wanted more for her kids.

Connelly got the job with the authority despite a previous theft conviction.

Reported by Brad Segall, KYW Newsradio.