Bensalem school theft

From the BCCT.

School secretary charged with theft
By BEN FINLEY

A Bensalem elementary school secretary is charged with stealing $5,000 from the school’s activity fund to pay her rent.

Jeannette DeVuono, 46, of Dunbar Court in Bensalem, is a secretary at Russell C. Struble Elementary School on Bensalem Boulevard, police said.

She was arraigned Tuesday morning on 16 third-degree felony charges, each punishable by up to seven years in prison, according to court records. Those charges include access device fraud, theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and receiving stolen property, court records stated.

Bristol Township District Judge Joanne V. Kline, subbing for Bensalem District Judge Leonard Brown, released DeVuono on her own recognizance.

The newspaper was unsuccessful in reaching DeVuono, also known as Jeannette Lipp, for comment.

The investigation began in October with a call to police from James Lombardo, Bensalem schools superintendent, according to court records. Lombardo told a detective that four checks from the school’s activities account totaling $5,150 were cashed by DeVuono, court records said.

Lombardo talked to DeVuono about the checks, and she allegedly admitted to cashing two of them. When a Bensalem detective talked to her, she admitted cashing all four of the checks, according to court records. She allegedly added: “I want to make full restitution.”

A preliminary hearing to review the charges against DeVuono is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 25 in Brown’s court in Bensalem.

Her employment status in the district is unknown. The school’s Web site, www.bensalemsd.org, lists her as a secretary.

DeVuono is currently on leave from the district, Lombardo said without elaboration.

“We have very good internal and external auditing procedures in place that will discover any transactions that are questionable,” Lombardo added. “And whenever that occurs, we will work in full cooperation with the police.”