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	Louisa Church's Funds Climb after Priest's Departure Recorded Collections Rise 18 Percent in Period since Embezzlement Suspect Left By Calvin R. Trice Times-Dispatch [Louisa VA] March 11, 2007 http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173350148675 Weekly collections have risen at a Louisa County Catholic church after the retirement of a priest who stands accused of stealing donations for years. Ever since the Rev. Rodney L. Rodis left in May, St. Jude Catholic Church has recorded 18 percent more money from its two weekly Masses, said Ray DeCarli, chairman of the church's finance council. Rodis, 50, is scheduled to enter a plea tomorrow in Louisa Circuit Court to a charge of felony embezzlement. Investigators believe he may have stolen as much as $1 million during his 14 years leading St. Jude in Mineral and Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in nearby Bumpass. Immaculate Conception has not analyzed records of its collections. Rodis often counted and recorded donations there himself, said Phil Scoggin, chairman of the church's finance council. Rodis retired in May for what he told church authorities were health reasons. St. Jude parishioners compared records of collections the church received from last July to January with the same period a year earlier when Rodis was still pastor. Parishioners can't tell how much of the 18 percent increase recorded since Rodis left reflects parishioners simply donating more money, or how much of it reflects what authorities allege was stolen the year before, DeCarli said. Investigators are still looking for records of church donations they believe were stolen. Church officials discovered the alleged embezzlement in November, when they traced a donation check to a bank account at Virginia Heartland Bank in Fredericksburg that church leaders knew nothing about. Authorities believe he diverted donations to that account, then used the money for other purposes. While he was pastor, Rodis frequently told Immaculate Conception parishioners who were in charge of tallying donations not to bother, that he would take care of it, Scoggin said. "As far as we knew, that was perfectly logical and legal," Scoggin said. "We trusted our priest." The investigation has turned up checks for as little as $5 from Mass collections that were canceled at the bank in Fredericksburg, Scoggin said. Immaculate Conception parishioners give from $800 to $2,000 in total weekly collections, Scoggin said. The church now requires two unrelated parishioners to count collections and deposit money into the bank, he said. The Diocese of Richmond advised all churches years ago to handle money that way. However, parishioners in Louisa County indicated in January that they weren't aware of the provision. St. Jude now takes in between $2,000 and $4,000 per week from two collections, DeCarli said. Beginning in 2004, Rodis didn't have access to Sunday Mass collections at St. Jude because they were counted and deposited by two parishioners. He previously did have access, however, to those collections. Some money collected from Sunday Masses before 2004 were deposited into the suspect bank account in Fredericksburg, DeCarli said. And Rodis had access to the safe that held St. Jude's collections for Saturday night Masses, he said. Unbeknownst to parishioners, Rodis had lived for years in Spotsylvania County, just outside Fredericksburg, with a woman he told his neighbors was his wife and with three children. She has since moved away with the children. Authorities have not said what he might have done with the missing money. However, Louisa's commonwealth's attorney has subpoenaed records from banks and from a wire-transfer service that sends money to the Philippines, Rodis' home country. Also traced to the account in Fredericksburg are checks written for victims of the December 2004 tsunami, a cause for which Rodis made a personal plea, Scoggin said. Church officials hope to find out whether they will be able to recover any of the missing money. "We're anxiously awaiting to see what the results will be [Monday]," Scoggin said. Contact staff writer Calvin R. Trice at ctrice@timesdispatch.com or (540) 574-9977.
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