Freeland councilwoman gets probation for theft
Mar. 3—A Freeland councilwoman will serve three years on probation for stealing $4,458 from the borough's recreation board, a county judge Monday.
Jennifer Ellen Farley, 55, previously pleaded guilty to felony counts of access device fraud and theft.
During a sentencing hearing, Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough sentenced Farley to 36 months of probation.
Farley had been free on $10,000 unsecured bail since her arrest last March.
Prosecutors said Farley stole the money using a recreation board debit card over a 2 1/2 -week period starting Feb. 28, 2020.
Investigators said the card was used to make 30 transactions during that period from six locations in Freeland and one in West Hazleton, and that surveillance footage showed Farley using the card at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post, Convenient Mart, Simply Smokes and Sona Mart.
At the same time police were speaking to bank officials about the case the afternoon of March 16, they learned the card had just been used at The Other Side Bar and Grill for a $102 withdrawal, prosecutors said.
Investigators found Farley at the bar in possession of the card.
During questioning, Farley told police she has a "sickness" and that she was sorry for her actions, according to prosecutors.
Farley was elected to her council seat in November 2019, and took office in January 2020.
Contact the writer: jhalpin@citizensvoice.com; 570-821-2058
