Matt Swartz’s Probation Officer Works for Him at Farmers’ Cabinet

The woman you see in this photo is named Christina Quartullo. She is a waitress at Logan, the bar recently opened at 20th and Arch by Farmers’ Cabinet owner Matt Swartz. She was working there on Wednesday night. Quartullo also works weekends at the Farmers’ Cabinet. But her day job is as a probation officer for the City of Philadelphia, and one of her probationers is, yep, Matt Swartz.

You may remember that Swartz was arrested back in December, after state police raided the Farmers’ Cabinet, which was operating as a bar even though its liquor license had expired. Swartz, who previously spent time in federal prison for wire fraud, had claimed that he did have permission. But it turns out that permission was a forgery, according to police, and Swartz was charged with said forgery.

On May 16th, Swartz entered a negotiated plea agreement, pleading guilty to one count of tampering with a public record and two counts of serving beer without a license to do so. Prosecutors agreed to drop the forgery charge. And Swartz was sentenced to up to 12 months probation. That’s where Probation Officer Christina Quartullo comes in.

Quartullo is listed in the City of Philadelphia phone directory as working in the Adult Probation department of the First Judicial District of Philadelphia. A source inside the probation office confirms that Quartullo is clearly listed as Swartz’s probation officer and says that Quartullo has made a few notes in his file, with her name logged with each entry. And if you call a random probation officer and ask them who Swartz’s probation officer is (we called two), they tell you the same thing: Christina Quartullo.

According to sources inside the Farmers’ Cabinet, Quartullo began working for Swartz prior to his sentencing in May, but it is unclear whether her employment under Swartz began before or after his arrest in December. It is also unclear how Quartullo wound up with her boss in her case load. What is clear is that it is a huge conflict of interest.

The head of Adult Probation, Chief Charles Hoyt, deflected all calls to Deputy Court Administrator Richard McSorley, who said that his office would investigate the matter immediately. Swartz and Quartullo did not respond to requests for comment. And Tasha Jamerson, spokesperson for District Attorney Seth Williams, whose office prosecuted Swartz’s case, says that her office is looking into whether any laws have been broken.

Meanwhile, Swartz is scheduled to meet with Quartullo at the probation office next week.

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