Roman Catholic Priests In Miami Embezzle $8M From Church

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[Get-Rich-Quick]
Two Roman Catholic priests allegedly embezzled more than $8 million from their church and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on real estate, travel, rare coins and girlfriends, police in Florida said today.

No word yet if they bought a Stairway to Heaven.

The retired priests were accused of skimming cash from collection plates and bequests to the St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach, Florida, over a period of years and channelling the money into secret "slush funds" they used to pay personal bills, Delray Beach police said.

Former St. Vincent pastor John Skehan, 79, was arrested on a charge of grand theft over $100,000 and was being held in the Palm Beach County jail.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Father Francis Guinan, 63, on the same charge. He was on a cruise in Australia but had contacted the police, the Palm Beach Post reported.

"We believe that our investigation has shown that the two allegedly have misappropriated more than $8 million and have used it for personal use or for other purchases," said Paige Patterson-Hughes, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

"Some of the things we believe were allegedly purchased included real estate, coins and travel," she said.

According to a police affidavit, Skehan invested heavily in rare coins, once buying $275,000 worth in a single day. He owned a cottage and a pub in Ireland, a penthouse condo worth $455,000 in Singer Island, Florida, and another condo in Delray Beach, the document said.

"These guys lived the life they told everyone else not to live, and they lived it on everyone else's dime," Delray Beach police spokesman Jeff Messer told the Post. "And one of the seven deadly sins is greed."

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Think of the Children
Posted by Stan A on 2006-09-29 15:41:45
How many pending pedophile priest-abuse cases could that money have settled? Think of the children.. please!
 

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