MERCED (CA)
Modesto Bee
By ADAM ASHTON
MERCED SUN-STAR
Last Updated: May 25, 2005, 07:15:55 AM PDT
MERCED — The ousted Rev. Jean-Michael Lastiri misspent about $60,000 over his last 20 months as leader of St. Patrick's Catholic Church, according to a special audit.
In a letter distributed to parishioners last Sunday, Bishop John T. Steinbock of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno, said the parish was reimbursed, but he did not say whether Lastiri returned the money.
Lastiri could not be reached for comment. His cell phone indicated that he was out of the area and not returning calls.
A group of six parishioners appointed by Monsignor Patrick McCormick met weekly for the past five months to analyze Lastiri's spending. McCormick assembled the panel after a longtime St. Patrick's finance committee member said he saw evidence of inappropriate transactions in church records.
The committee discovered:
Personal travel expenses amounting to $19,881.
Purchases of personal goods and services totaling $10,766.
Unauthorized personal loans totaling $10,200.
A $3,000 down payment for a car.
Other expenses of $16,311.
Steinbock removed Lastiri from St. Patrick's last July amid allegations that the priest had posted messages to an Internet dating service for gay men, and arranged for rendezvous in cities that he visited — sometimes on church busines