Charge: Jenkintown tax collector stole $200K to gamble

Jenkintown's former tax collector has been charged with stealing more than $200,000 in tax revenues to finance a gambling habit, officials said today.

Michael O'Neill had been the borough's tax collector for eight years before resigning in January under a cloud of suspicion.

He admitted taking the money to gamble at the Parx Casino in Bensalem between December 2008 and last December, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman's office said in a statement.

The investigation determined he stole $201,181 in tax revenues and lost $182,000 at the casino, the statement said.

He is charged with theft by deception, theft by unlawful taking and related offenses.