BishopAccountability.org
	N.J. Priest Pays Price for Theft Cleric Fined, Prohibited from Serving in Parish. Prosecutors Won't Reveal Full List of Expenditures By Andrea Eilenberger The Express-Times March 24, 2007 http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/nj/index.ssf?/base/news-4/117470914467570.xml&coll=2 A priest who stole more than $10,000 from his Lambertville parish must pay $4,000 in restitution and complete 50 hours of community service under the terms of an alternative sentencing program he entered this week. If the Rev. Marian Drozd successfully completes the yearlong pretrial intervention program, the third-degree theft charge he faces will be dropped. "He still feels horrible and very remorseful," his attorney, Stephen A. Caputo, said Friday. "He's still very embarrassed by the whole situation; he's a good guy and a good priest and I believe he'll turn this negative into a positive." Drozd was the parochial vicar of St. John the Evangelist Parish when he took cash from Masses between August and January, authorities have said. Some of the money went to vestments or garments worn by clergy that Drozd bought from Poland, Caputo said. Drozd was first ordained in Poland in 1991. The rest of the money went to personal use, although not for "illicit" purposes, Caputo said. Caputo indicated Drozd already paid about $11,000 to the church; the $4,000 restitution is in addition. Hunterdon County First Assistant Prosecutor Steven Lember declined to release the total amount Drozd stole. Lember also declined to comment on what the money might have been spent. "He received the same sort of offer as a first-time offender would normally receive under the circumstances," Lember said. A third-degree theft conviction carries a maximum five-year prison term. Drozd first came to St. John, a parish of 1,482 registered families, in July. He came to the Diocese of Metuchen in 2003. He was first assigned to St. Mary of Czestochowa in Bound Brook and then to St. Cecelia in Iselin, both in New Jersey. He took a voluntary leave of absence from St. John's after collections were noticed to be significantly less than usual. "He will not be returned to St. John's," diocese spokeswoman Joanne Ward said Friday. She said the diocese has not decided where he might be reassigned. Ward noted Drozd's contrition and the reparation he's made and said it is unlikely the diocese would ask for his removal from the priesthood. Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.