Former Bristol Township Employee Sentenced For Misappropriation Of Funds
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Jessica Ireland , the former Parks and Rec department head and former Confidential Secretary To Township Manager Randee Mazur was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay restitution of about $14,000.
This after Ireland used a township credit card and stuck the township for the bill for purchases she was not authorized to make. Even after being confronted, she was allowed to hold onto the credit card.
In a statement to the court, Mazur stated “The harm caused by the defendant cannot be measured solely by the dollar amount that was taken. More than $14,000 in public resources was misappropriated, but the financial loss is only one part of what occurred. Her conduct damaged public trust, disrupted Township operations, affected employee morale, required substantial staff time and resources to investigate, and forced an organization that has worked for years to strengthen accountability to once again defend its integrity” .
“The conduct that brings us before the Court was not one accidental purchase, one lapse in judgment, or one misunderstanding of Township policy. It involved repeated decisions over a period of months.
The defendant used the Township’s Amazon account, Township credit cards, and other Township resources to make unauthorized purchases for personal benefit. She allowed substantial unpaid balances to accumulate. Transactions were misidentified or concealed. Invoices associated with improper purchases were left unpaid. Township staff were then required to reconstruct what had occurred.
She also understood the weaknesses that existed within our processes at that particular time. She knew who reviewed purchases. She knew how invoices moved through the Township. She knew what information management relied upon. She knew when changes in personnel created additional vulnerabilities.
That knowledge should have made her more protective of Township resources. Instead, it made the misconduct more difficult to detect.
What remains particularly significant to me is that she had opportunities to stop.
When improper Amazon purchases were first discovered, she represented that the purchases had been made accidentally through the wrong account and that they involved back-to-school items for her daughters. She said the items would be returned, and the Township would be repaid.
I believed her.
I also knew she was experiencing financial difficulties. Rather than allow the Township to bear that loss while she addressed the situation, I personally covered the money because I believed what she told me and believed she intended to make it right.
“When confronted with an improper transaction, she could have told the truth. She could have disclosed the remaining conduct. She could have stopped. She could have begun repairing the damage. She did not. Instead, the conduct continued.”. That is a direct quote from Mazur. She allowed a friend, or a close co worker to continue to abuse and manipulate the system. Mazur did nothing to stop it. She kept the credit accounts open. She did not cancel the card and she did not rescind the card as a condition of continued employment.
This is important as many township residents are furious at what they see as a double standard between this and The Newportville Fire Company. In that instance, former Chief Fred Black was accused of allegedly misusing funds during a December 2024 audit, discrepancies were found. The credit accounts used by Black were suspended, Black was stripped of his positions and the Fire company immediately contacted township officials .
The township did not immediately issue a press release on Ireland’s arrest until after this news source broke the story. Black’s case is winding it’s way around the legal system.Mazur used Black’s alleged misappropriations as part of her basis to close the firehouse.
Many township residents were furious at the way the township tried to sneak it past them and only found out about it when the fire company members went on a door knocking campaign. The Newportville Fire Company will close later this month. Mazur and council continue their business as usual.