Former City Employee, Three Others Charged in Corruption Scheme

PHILADELPHIA—Kelly Kaufmann Layre, Tina Meyrick, Paul Kling, and Brian Daly were charged today by information with bribery relating to a corrupt scheme to sell and obtain traffic accident reports, police incident reports, and fire reports depriving the City of Philadelphia of hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

The information specifically alleges that Layre, a former employee of the City of Philadelphia Records Department, located in City Hall, solicited bribes on a weekly basis in the form of cash payments from Meyrick, Kling, and Daly for many years, from about 2006 through February 2010, in exchange for providing them each with various reports. Layre received approximately $185,776 for her personal use from this corrupt scheme and deprived the City of Philadelphia of over $600,000 in fees. As part of this scheme, Layre sold over 20,000 reports, which are normally sold to the public for a $20 or $25 fee, to Meyrick, Kling, and Daly at a significantly reduced rate. It is further alleged that Meyrick, Kling, and Daly knew that Layre was accepting the cash for her personal use and not providing the funds to the City of Philadelphia.

“Government employees are expected to conduct themselves with integrity,” said Memeger. “When a city worker accepts bribes to provide what is otherwise available for a fee, the city and its residents pay an extraordinary price for that betrayal of trust.”

“Corruption by public officials and employees is a breach of the trust that we as citizens place in our public servants,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk of the Philadelphia Division of the FBI, “and it is the FBI’s top criminal priority because of the effect it has on society. The allegations in the charges filed today represent the siphoning off of public funds that the City of Philadelphia desperately needs.”

“This should send a message that city employees must uphold the public trust at all times in their official duties,” said Inspector General Amy Kurland. “The city lost more than $600,000 as a result of the bribery scheme that these defendants orchestrated. This was money that was sorely needed and many programs are still suffering from the cuts that have been made. It’s crucial that we recover these funds and spend them on projects that benefit all Philadelphians.”

INFORMATION REGARDING THE DEFENDANTS

If convicted of all charges, Layre, Meyrick, Kling, and Daly each face a maximum possible sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and full restitution.

This case was jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City of Philadelphia Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Denise S. Wolf.