From the LVRJ: A high-ranking Las Vegas Catholic priest admitted in federal court Friday to stealing $650,000 from a Summerlin parish, including funds from its votive candles, gift shop and church mission.
Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to three counts of mail fraud in connection with the thefts, which took place over several years from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church.
The guilty plea capped nearly four months of turbulence and uncertainty in the parish, which was rocked in June when the Las Vegas Diocese announced the priest had been relieved of most of his duties as investigators looked into the parish's finances.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/pastor-pleads-guilty-to-theft-from-st-elizabeth-ann-seton-catholic-church-131360823.html
So, for stealing $650,000 cash that was intended for the Church and poor, McAuliff breaks the trust of not only the people attending St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, but Catholics in Las Vegas and church goers of different religions as well, he gets charged with mail fraud. He steals money that had people given to honor their dead relatives, and he gets only 3 mail fraud convictions.
McAuliffe stole money that was meant for the poor- the Church's mission and he gets 3 mail fraud charges. And people wonder why the prices of the items cost so much in the gift shop? Well, now we know why. Many people have volunteered at the Church, whether it is teaching, cleaning, setting up and so many other volunteer duties, how do you think they feel?
So, why is McAuliffe being treated with kid gloves, at best? He is actually being given a big wet sloppy kiss by the Feds. Unless there are other people involved further up the Diocese food chain, and it doesn't look like it because there is only 1 bigger fish in the Diocese, Bishop Pepe, there was no reason to give him the sweet plea deal.
Why hasn't McAuliffe been charged with theft? If the cleaning lady at SEAS stole $500 from the Church, she would have been charged with felony theft. How about burglary? He broke into the Church, locked boxes, safe etc, all with the intent to steal money.
How about tax evasion? Unless he put down on his tax returns the $650,000 he stole on his returns, he should have been charged with tax evasion. If you or I did this, we would be charged with tax evasion and made to pay the money back, with interest.
Could he have been charged with violating non-profit laws?
The fact is that McAuliffe is getting away a number of crimes and he will not spend much, if any time in prison. He says he will pay the restitution but how will he do that? $650,000 is a lot of money to pay back on a priest's salary, assuming he still is a priest. And why is he still a priest? While not a legal one that the Fed's can deal with, but McAuliffe should be fired by the Las Vegas Diocese and the Pope should defrock the man. This is not the case of McAuliffe making a one time mistake but he had been stealing for 8 years and stole a large amount of money. He has broken the trust of just about every Catholic in Las Vegas. How can the people going to Church in Las Vegas not wonder if the money they give to the Church is not going to line someone else's pocket.
While priests do not make great money but they know that going in. But they get great fringe benefits most people would not get. They get housing or money for housing, gas allowance when they use their car on business, which is almost all the time, good health insurance etc. Priests also will never go hungry. I am sure that a priest can get a free meal by being invited to meals or food brought to the Church every day, especially up in Summerlin. They don't even have to spend a lot of money on clothes. They also make extra cash money doing weddings, funerals, baptisms, etc.
So, there is no real reason why a priest should steal except for greed, on the case of a priest in Wisconsin whole got involved in a Nigerian scam, stupidity. McAuliffe is not stupid.
So, why is McAuliffe being given special treatment? Assuming he is not going to be charged in Clark County by the local DA and Metro, he will only face a few years in a minimum security prison. Because McAuliffe is from Wisconsin, he will be probably be put into the prison in Oxford, WI. It is located in central Wisconsin, about 60 miles north of Madison. (http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/oxf/index.jsp ) The prison is located in a beautiful area of Wisconsin and the minimum security prisoners have some nice recreation areas to play in and the jobs are easy. I am sure McAuliffe can put some of his priest duties to work there. Other than it being a prison, it's really a nice vacation area and place.
So, McAuliffe is getting away with a lot of crimes that most people would never get a break from. Yes, McAuliffe has done a lot of good things in life but he also has done some very bad things that he has to pay for. The same could be said of many people going through the criminal court system. But McAuliffe is getting the baby glove treatment. Why?
They Will NEVER Explain This
47 minutes ago
Right, and tell that to all the muggers out there- it's only money. I suppose O.J. should have been let go because it was only memorbilia.
ReplyDeleteHe broke the trust of the people. And yes, he may have guilt- guilt that he caught, perhaps.
If this was just one instance of poor judgement, maybe you would have a case, but the stealing went on for 8 years. That is not the sign of a man who has guilt.
You are blaming McAuliffe but there is someone more at fault - Bishop Pepe. Since arriving in 2001, Pepe has never insisted on a routine audit of the finances and a review of the cash controls at St. Elizabeth's. Pepe created the environment that allowed this to happen. Pepe arrives in 2001 and McAuliffe begins stealing in 2002. A multimillion dollar annual budget parish and no audit for 10+ years!
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