Former school official faces prison time

October 18, 2005

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

A former regional assistant superintendent for Prince George's County (Maryland) schools faces up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced in January for money-laundering convictions in Norfolk.

Pamela Yvette Hoffler-Riddick, 44, also faces a trial next month on charges of witness tampering, the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reported.

Hoffler-Riddick was found guilty Friday of five counts of laundering about $50,000 in connection with a $20 million drug international ring from September 1996 to January, when she was arrested.

According to court documents, she deposited large sums of money into bank and credit union accounts in connection with the drug ring.

She pleaded not guilty in February.

Hired in 2003 by schools chief Andre J. Hornsby, Hoffler-Riddick oversaw about 40 schools in Prince George's County, earning about $138,000 a year.

"She served the system well," schools spokesman John White said. "And it was certainly a surprise when the initial issue arose, when we received the news of the arrest."

Mr. White said her contract was not renewed in June.

Before working in Prince George's, Hoffler-Riddick had been employed as a community superintendent in Montgomery County before being elevated to associate superintendent for shared accountability.

She also had worked for the Baltimore school system as executive director for intervention services and as a school administrator in the Hampton Roads area in Virginia.