Bucks County official faces corruption charges

A grand jury indictment alleges the register of wills in Bucks County used her taxpayer-funded staff to do political work, and then destroyed evidence to cover it up.

Bucks County Register of Wills Barbara Reilly has served as the elected row officer for more than 30 years. Friday, she faced charges of felony theft, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler has charged Reilly, along with three other employees. Heckler says office staff, all Republicans, were forced to do political campaign work on and off the clock. The 240-page grand jury report details how employees earned “off-the-books” comp time for their work. But if they complained or refused, they would be subject to harassment and intimidation, the report said.

Once the investigation became known, the report said two of Reilly’s deputies engaged in an office “shredding party,” destroying physical evidence and deleting computer files.

The 74-year-old Reilly has said she will not seek re-election. A message left on her home phone was not returned.