Want to Bet He Did It?
Priest charged with taking $300k from parishioners
Updated 1:44 PM CST, Thu, Jul 30, 2009
Parishioners at St. Walter's Parish in Roselle are, like many good Catholics, a generous lot. So much so that their former priest, Father John Regan, apparently didn't know what to do with all that cash.
Maybe Father Regan was just confused when people kept handing him checks. So, according to the DuPage County state's attorney, he opened a personal account and started depositing them.
Regan kept putting money into his personal account for almost two years -- to the tune of about $300,000 -- the state's attorney alleges. Regan used the cash to pay off his personal credit cards and to make withdrawals at riverboat casino ATMs, according to the indictment.
The diocese was tipped off by bank officials, who told investigators they found irregularities in the priest's personal account.
In all, Regan faces nine counts of theft over $100,000 from a place of worship, one count of continuing a financial crimes enterprise, seven counts of theft and four counts of money laundering.
An arrest warrant was issued Thursday afternoon for Regan on a $1 million bond. He had not yet been taken into custody.
Perhaps he should have stuck to bingo.
First Published: Feb 5, 2009 12:52 PM CST
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