Merrick Art Gallery ex-director charged in $120K theft

The former director of the Merrick Art Gallery in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, has been charged with five felonies after investigators accused her of taking close to $120,000 from the gallery she led for six years.

Michelle Mary Long, 75, of Rochester, was charged July 27 by New Brighton police, court records reviewed by Urgent Matter show. The charges were filed by Officer Tanner J. Leavens and list an offense date of January 15, 2026.

Long faces one count each of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, forgery and unauthorized use of an access device, all graded as third-degree felonies.

She was released on her own recognizance and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on August 7 before Magisterial District Judge Daniel J. Viscuso in Beaver County.

Long directed the museum from 2019 until 2025, Beaver County Radio reported.

An accounting review found that she made $83,779 in cash withdrawals that were not properly documented, including $6,783 spent on personal items, the station reported, citing police documents. She is also accused of adding $35,816 to her own compensation.

Beaver County Radio, citing a police report, reported that Long forged the signature of a board trustee who has since died on some of the museum's checks.

The gallery is run by a private foundation that reported nearly $1.3 million in assets at the end of 2023, most of it an investment portfolio, its 2023 federal tax return shows.

The foundation took in $97,262 that year against $201,038 in expenses, a loss of $103,776, and reported spending $185,334 to operate the gallery, museum, library and historic site, the filing shows.

The case is active and awaiting the preliminary hearing, records show.

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