Former Parks Director Charged With Misusing $14,000 Public Funds

A former Bristol Township official has been charged after investigators say she misappropriated more than $14,000 in public funds for personal expenses.

Jessica Lynn Ireland, 41, of Bristol Township, was charged last week with theft, receiving stolen property, use of the access device is unauthorized by the issuer, misapplying entrusted, government, or financial institution property, and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds. She was preliminarily arraigned by District Judge Kevin Wagner and released on $50,000 unsecured bail.

Ireland served as the confidential secretary for the township manager starting in 2020 before being promoted to parks and recreation director in July 2025. Her employment with the township had ended by early 2026, according to public records.

After she became parks and recreation director, Ireland was to turn over her administrative access to the municipality’s Amazon Business account to the new secretary to the township manager. Ireland failed to do so, police said.

In September 2025, Township Manager Randee Mazur noticed unauthorized charges on the municipality’s Amazon Business account, police said.

Ireland allegedly told officials the charges were a mistake and that she believed she was using her personal account, police said.

A review of the account revealed 370 unauthorized purchases totaling $14,000 between March and December 2025, according to court records.

Police said Ireland told officials she was using her personal Venmo account to collect $340 for raffle tickets during the Bristol Township Fall Festival. The funds were never turned over to the township.

Police said Ireland took four $100 deposits paid for building rentals.

In December 2025, officials discovered Ireland’s personal T-Mobile bill was being charged to a credit card belonging to the previous parks and recreation director, police said.

When questioned by investigators, Ireland allegedly said she had “impulsivity of spending money without knowing before it is too late.”

In a statement following the arrest, which was first reported by DelawareValleyNews.com, Bristol Township officials stated Ireland was no longer an employee and they cooperated with police.

“The Township takes these allegations seriously,” the statement read. “Public funds must be handled with care, transparency, and accountability. In 2025, Township management identified concerns related to account activity. The Township acted promptly to review the matter, address the issue, and refer it to law enforcement.”

In February, Bristol Township Council heard from Mazur on an updated procurement policy in the administration.

“This is policies that the manager’s office is implementing. It does not have to come in front of council, but we wanted council to review and acknowledge these are existing procurement policies,” Mazur said at the time.

Municipal officials did not comment on the reasoning, aside from mentioning “recent theft.”

Ireland previously worked in the offices on Tullytown Borough before being hired by Bristol Township.

Below is the township’s full statement:

“Bristol Township is aware of the arrest of former employee, Jessica Ireland, on charges related to the alleged misappropriation of funds.

“Ms. Ireland is no longer employed by Bristol Township. The Township has cooperated fully with the investigation and will continue to do so.

“The Township takes these allegations seriously. Public funds must be handled with care, transparency, and accountability. In 2025, Township management identified concerns related to account activity. The Township acted promptly to review the matter, address the issue, and refer it to law enforcement.

“The Township hired a new Finance Officer in September 2025, who was hired to review its financial internal controls and strengthen procedures for account oversight, purchasing, and monitoring to prevent similar issues. The Township has enacted multiple new standard operating procedures to safeguard taxpayer funds.

“Because this is an active legal matter, the Township will not provide further comment at this time.

“Bristol Township remains committed to protecting public resources and maintaining the trust of its residents.“

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.