Police Ex Employee Stole from Church Officials of St. Mary Magdalen Say More Than $600,000 Is Missing The Former Worker Admitted to Stealing $18,000, by Susan Jacobson and Josh Robbins, Orlando Sentinel, July 23, 2007

Police: Ex-Employee Stole from Church
Officials of St. Mary Magdalen Say More Than $600,000 Is Missing
The Former Worker Admitted to Stealing $18,000

By Susan Jacobson and Josh Robbins
Orlando Sentinel
July 23, 2007

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-churchtheft2307jul23,0,2541251.story

Altamonte Springs - Parishioners at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church were saddened Sunday to learn that a former church employee is suspected of stealing an estimated $675,000 from church coffers and is under police investigation.

At the end of the noon Mass, the Rev. Charlie Mitchell read a letter from Bishop Thomas Wenski of the Catholic Diocese of Orlando that said the former employee admitted to the embezzlement but contested the amount of money taken.

"As pastor of St. Mary Magdalen, I don't think there is anything that I can recall that's harder for me to say to you than what I'm about to say now," Mitchell told about 350 people assembled. He made similar announcements Saturday night and at earlier services Sunday.

Many parishioners sat stone-faced.

"It's absolutely shocking to me," Fara Fekany of Maitland said after the service.

Altamonte Springs police said a church administrator reported the theft to police Friday evening, although the administrator told authorities she became suspicious in mid-April. A spokeswoman for the diocese, Carol Brinati, released a statement asserting that internal and external reviews found that the church complies with all diocesan accounting procedures.

The former employee admitted stealing $18,000 from the church's 2006 fall community festival, police said. The annual event features carnival rides, concerts and food. The church alleges that $19,000 is missing from festival proceeds, police said.

The suspect also acknowledged to someone from the church on July 15 that for several years she pilfered from the weekly offering, police said.

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Church officials told police that more than $600,000 was taken from money the congregation donated, said Officer Timothy Hyer, a police spokesman.

To put the alleged theft in perspective, parishioners and visitors left a total of nearly $55,000 in the basket July 7 and 8, according to the church's newsletter.

Brinati's statement said the diocese is seeking restitution from the former employee, and that its insurance carrier has been notified of the loss. Brinati would not reveal what position the worker held or answer other questions, citing the ongoing investigation.

Police are investigating the case as a possible grand theft of more than $100,000, Hyer said. A detective is expected to be assigned today.

News of the embezzlement coincided with Sunday's feast of St. Mary Magdalen, the saint for whom the church is named.

Mitchell reminded his flock that they have gone through hard times before and emerged strong. In November 1999, a covered walkway at the church collapsed between services, temporarily paralyzing a young mother and injuring 30 other people, some seriously. City inspectors blamed the collapse on undersized nails and rotting wood caused by water leaks and termites.

"Many of you recall the collapse of the ceiling and the sexual-abuse crisis," Mitchell said. "And in each circumstance, through the providence of God, through the great spirit of this parish community and through our joining together in prayer, we have risen to the occasion."

Parishioner Roger Brickner of Apopka agreed.

"We have a great parish," Brickner said. "We're all sinners. Some sins are worse than others. [We need to] forgive the sinner and rehabilitate what needs to be rehabilitated."

Susan Jacobson can be reached at sjacobson@orlandosentinel.com or 386-851-7903. Josh Robbins can be reached at 407-420-6163 or jrobbins@orlandosentinel.com.