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	Former Darien Pastor Pleads Guilty to Stealing Money Darien Times September 12, 2007 http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/darien/22555.shtml Editor's note: The following is a copy of a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Full coverage of today's guilty plea by the former Darien priest will be in tomorrow's Darien Times. Kevin J. O'Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Michael Jude Fay, age 56, the former pastor of St. John Roman Catholic Church in Darien, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to one count of interstate transportation of money obtained by fraud arising from his multi-year scheme to use funds donated to the Parish for personal use. According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, Fay was employed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport and served as the pastor at St. John's Church in Darien from 1991 to 2006. Fay's responsibilities included ensuring that monies provided to St. John's by parishioners be maintained for the benefit of the Parish and its parishioners. In pleading guilty, Fay admitted that he used parishioners' contributions to the Parish to fund personal expenses, including trips to Europe, the Caribbean, and other parts of the United States. From 1999 to 2006, FAY used two bank accounts, the existence of which he did not disclose to the Parish Finance Council, to deposit hundreds of thousands of dollars of parishioner contributions that he later used for his personal benefit. FAY also admitted that, in March 2006, he instructed an employee of the Parish to transfer $34,000 from a Parish bank account in Connecticut to his personal bank account at Wachovia Bank in Florida. The $34,000 represented Parish funds that were needed to pay Parish expenses including salaries of Parish employees. Immediately after the $34,000 was transferred to FAY's personal account at Wachovia Bank, Fay admitted that he caused these funds to be transferred in interstate commerce to a company in Pennsylvania. The $34,000 represented part of a $39,558 down payment for the purchase by FAY of a Philadelphia condo. "A religious leader who secretly uses contributions made to a Church for his own personal benefit destroys the confidence and trust of everyone who donates money to a religious institution or charity," U.S. Attorney O'Connor stated. "Prosecutions of this kind of serious criminal conduct should serve as a message that no one is above the law." Judge Arterton has scheduled sentencing for December 4, 2007, at which time FAY faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000. FAY also will be required to pay restitution to his victims. This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Diocese of Bridgeport and St. John's Parish officials. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Richard J. Schechter.
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