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Deltaquarius 10-24-2001 02:42 PM

Super Duper Perp!
 
I don't post often, but I just had to pass this on. Here's the actual link to the article:

http://dailynews.philly.com/content/...al/LIAR24C.htm

She wormed into school with fake degree


By THERESA CONROY
conroyt@phillynews.com

Carolyn Reid never even went to college, yet she passed herself off as a certified teacher at a respected Philadelphia private school.

Reid pulled off the fraud so well that she eventually became assistant principal of the Ivy Leaf Middle School in Oak Lane.

Her fake college degree also provided Reid's entry into the esteemed Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She eventually served as president of the sorority's Quaker City Alumnae Chapter.

Her lies were revealed - and punished - yesterday when a Municipal Court judge found Reid guilty of illegal use of a professional title.

"This is a very serious matter, Miss Reid," said Municipal Judge Ronald B. Merriweather. "You know, kids have a tough enough time as it is, especially inner city kids, and for someone - you included - to be part of a fraud, this court finds very offensive. In my opinion, you should go to jail."

Merriweather sentenced Reid instead to 100 hours of community service and three months' probation.

Reid pulled the scheme by passing off someone else's teaching certificate as her own, said Deputy state Attorney General Marc Costanza, who prosecuted the case.

The fraud came to light when Ivy Leaf officials, applying for routine recertification, learned from the state Department of Education that Reid's qualifications were bogus.

Reid had nothing more than a high school diploma from Simon Gratz High School.

"I wasn't aware until we were confronted with the situation, and we handled it by terminating the employee as we were instructed to do," Ivy Leaf director Renee Brooks said yesterday in a telephone interview. "We did what we were supposed to do to continue with the reputation of the school."

Brooks said Reid, who was hired as a teacher in 1998 and terminated in 2000, had been assistant principal for a year-and-a- half.

At least a dozen Delta sorority sisters attended Reid's brief trial yesterday, but declined to discuss her fraudulent association with the organization.

"In order to be a Delta, you have to have gone to college. As the judge just proved, she's never been to college, so she's never been a part of our organization," said Quaker City chapter president Leslie Cousins.

Merriweather, who said he was familiar with the school and the sorority, told Reid she should be ashamed of tainting the integrity of both groups.

"You've impacted on a number of people and a number of organizations," Merriweather said. "You've brought shame. . .I hope, as your lawyer says, you feel the shame."

Reid, who has three daughters, told the judge she was sorry for lying to the students and adminstrators of Ivy Leaf school.

"I'd like to make an apology for what I did," Reid said in a soft voice. "I know that it was wrong and I didn't want to do anything but just move on."

Ivy Leaf, which has 760 students, is the city's oldest African-American school. *

NOWorNEVER 10-24-2001 03:20 PM

How the hell did she get away w/ that???
 
Whoa. That is out of control. A background check should have been performed on that woman the moment she applied for that position, as should any person applying for a major job like that. IMO, community service and probation wasn't enough. She should have been sent to jail for at least 18 month. I am trippin' hard over the fact she had the nerve to say she was a Delta to add to her "accomplishments." Wow.

Steeltrap 10-24-2001 03:34 PM

Holy moley. My aunt, a Delta who lives in the Philadelphia suburb of Germantown, may know this woman.

:eek: :confused:

CrimsonTide4 10-24-2001 03:53 PM

NO WAY IN HAAAAADES
 
First of all she would have done some time. You Do the crime you are going to do some time. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO LIVE THAT BIG OF A LIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am LIIIIIIVID!!

Community service doing what monitoring LIE DETECTOR TESTS!?!?!?!!?:mad: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :confused:

Deltaquarius 10-24-2001 04:00 PM

Re: NO WAY IN HAAAAADES
 
Quote:

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4
First of all she would have done some time. You Do the crime you are going to do some time. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO LIVE THAT BIG OF A LIE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am LIIIIIIVID!!

Community service doing what monitoring LIE DETECTOR TESTS!?!?!?!!?:mad: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :confused:

Livid is what I'm feeling as well! If there are any lawyers checkin' in, can you please explain to me how she gets away with such a light sentence? Can Delta sue her for mis-representation? She stole someone's identity and I would think that, in and of itself, would get her some jail time. :mad:

Kimmie1913 10-24-2001 04:30 PM

Re: Re: NO WAY IN HAAAAADES
 
Quote:

Originally posted by Deltaquarius


Livid is what I'm feeling as well! If there are any lawyers checkin' in, can you please explain to me how she gets away with such a light sentence? Can Delta sue her for mis-representation? She stole someone's identity and I would think that, in and of itself, would get her some jail time. :mad:

Well, Sorors, it is sad to say that the reality of the American Legal system is that she got the sentence I would have expected. (I am an attorney BTW) Truth be told, that if she was a first time offender with no criminal record for a non violent crime she was not going to actually go to jail. From the article it is not clear if she really stole an identity or if she fraudulently used someone else's teaching certificate (as opposed to their name, ssn, etc.) so there may not be an identity theft case lurking in there. BUT I do not see how she succeeded in providing transcripts to Quaker City if she DID NOT GO TO SCHOOL. We had to send certified sealed copies from the university, mailed to the chapter. Did she successfully fake them or what? I am truly disheartened. She was chapter president for heaven's sakes!

In the big picture people get probation for violent crimes, assault, theft, drug possession. Fraud is not necessarily going to do it. If she had embezzled money or something maybe but not with these facts.

deltagrl 10-24-2001 08:08 PM

So basically sorors we have a criminal out there that know a lot of very confidential information that we TRUE, non-criminal members worked hard to acquire! Wow this is truly a scary thought! At least she was smart enough to know the best sorority! There has to be something that the sorority can do to protect our confidential information! Well I'm just glad that she was caught.:D

stillwater15 10-25-2001 01:34 AM

at least she was prosecuted and will have to do some real public service. a lot of people dropped the ball on this one. for all members of bglo's, let this be a reminder to check credentials before sharing info about rituals and other info.

she made it to chapter president. wow...

HopefulProspective 10-25-2001 01:32 PM

Oh, my...
 
Can you imagine all of the lies she had to keep up with!!!

That would have got me right there...I don't lie well!! I would have gotten caught perping in a matter of minutes!!:eek:

SFactor 10-25-2001 03:03 PM

Sistas, I believe we (all Sororities and Fraternities) need to make sure we have ourselves together. The same goes for our sisters and brothers who have desires to become a part of an organization. There's no need to fake or pretend about anything with people. The real you will come out sooner or later. I hate that this happened to your organization - for it could have happened to any GLO. (let's leave no one out)

Someone said when you want something real bad - you'll do anything to get it. Ms. Reid made that statement come to reality.

HopefulProspective - as you mentioned (indirectly) how can people lie or get away with things - it's just like my Grandmother told me - some people are so smooth - they can steal the sugar out of the gingerbread without you knowing it.
:(

TRSimon 10-25-2001 04:36 PM

Hindsight is 20/20, but

Sealed transcript with a verification phone call to the school by whoever handles applications to get into a sorority pretty much weeds out this kind of stuff.

Sometimes folks pay too much attention to the way people dress and the pretty pretty words they say to seek the truth the way they would if the applicant did not carry a Prada, wear MAC and drink Evian or Perrier.

#1 Leading Lady 10-25-2001 04:37 PM

All I can manage to utter out is that is some deep mess. But like my Grandmother always told me " What happens in the dark will ALWAYS come to the light" I hope that chapter is repossessing her naila' and other nic nacs, membership card and other pertinent information. Can We BLACKBALL!

CrucialCrimson 10-25-2001 05:21 PM

I wonder how long ago she joined, because believe it or not it wasn't that long ago that plenty of schools still had handwritten transcripts with a "seal" that wasn't that hard to reproduce. Even now when you do alumnae intake and you get a transcript from someone who attended school in the 60s or 70s the transcript might look like a 3rd grade report card!!

CrimsonTide4 10-25-2001 07:40 PM

What in the world
 
Quote:

Originally posted by TRSimon

Sometimes folks pay too much attention to the way people dress and the pretty pretty words they say to seek the truth the way they would if the applicant did not carry a Prada, wear MAC and drink Evian or Perrier.

What does this have to do with this case?

TRSimon 10-25-2001 08:10 PM

Re: What in the world
 
Quote:

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4


What does this have to do with this case?

This person had to have some pleasing aesthetic qualities to get as far as she got with the job, etc. If she had not been so smooth, people would have taken more time to research her qualifications, and discovered she was a fraud before she attained the promotion and other honors.

I could be wrong, of course, but I don't think so.

:D
TRSimon


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