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	Former Darien Pastor Pleads Guilty to Stealing from Church By Donna Porstner The Advocate September 12, 2007 http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-fay0912,0,6445415.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines New Haven — A former pastor today admitted in federal court that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his wealthy Darien parish to buy a Philadelphia condo and other personal items. The Rev. Michael Jude Fay pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of money obtained by fraud before U.S. District Court Judge Janet Bond Arterton. As part of a plea agreement, he waived indictment, which prevents a grand jury from reviewing evidence in the case and avoids the possibility of a trial. Fay faces up to 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines when he is sentenced Dec. 4. Fay, who was pastor of St. John Roman Catholic Church from 1991 until his resignation last year, admitted he funneled church donations into two secret bank accounts, which he used mostly for personal expenses. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Schechter told the judge that, had the case gone to trial, he could have proved Fay deposited about $230,000 church funds into an account at Summit Bank in Darien he dubbed "the Bridget Fund" between 1999 and 2000, spending most of it on personal expenses. From 2000 to 2006, Fay deposited at least $750,000 in a separate account at Fairfield County Bank in Darien he called the "Don Bosco Fund," which he used to pay his personal credit card bills and other expenses, Schechter said. "Between 1999 and 2006, more than $400,000 in parish funds were stolen, converted or taken by fraud by Mr. Fay for his personal benefit," Schechter said. The government also claimed to have evidence that Fay ordered a church employee to transfer $34,000 into his personal account for the downpayment on a Philadelphia condominium. While Fay admitted he stole church funds, his court-appointed attorney, Lawrence Hopkins, said Fay disagrees with the amount of money the government claims he stole. Fay, who wore a plain black suit and his graying blond hair in a crewcut for his day in court, was expressionless throughout the hour-long proceeding. He had a bandage on his left hand and told the judge he is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer and taking anti-anxiety medication. Fay said he learned this morning his chemotherapy treatments are not working. Asked after the proceedings whether he had anything to say to the St. John's parishioners he defrauded, Fay was silent. Hopkins declined to comment. Fay was pastor of St. John for 15 years and served on the diocese's Sexual Misconduct Review Board before he resigned in May 2006. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney spent more than a year investigating the case. Bishop William Lori of the Bridgeport diocese forced Fay to resign after the parish bookkeeper and another priest at St. John's, the Rev. Michael Madden, blew the whistle on his wild spending sprees. Madden and the bookkeeper, Bethany D'Erario, hired a private investigator who discovered that Fay used church credit cards to shop at Tiffany, Cartier and Hermes and buy other luxury items that included $23,329 worth of Ethan Allen furniture. Diocesan officials later said they knew St. John was behind on its bills but did not investigate parish finances because of staffing shortages. An audit commissioned by the Bridgeport Diocese later found Fay spent $1.4 million in church funds over six years on limousine rides, airline tickets, Giorgio Armani clothing and dinners at upscale restaurants such as the Homestead Inn in Greenwich and Roger Sherman Inn in New Canaan. Fay wrote to former parishioners in April seeking donations to cover his $115,000 legal bill. In December, Fay transferred his half of the Florida condominium he owned with his wedding-planner boyfriend, Cliff Fantini, to the parish to pay back some of the missing money. Fay, 56, who is living in Florida, will be ordered to pay restitution to his victims, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney.
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