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	Trial Date Set for Former Priests Facing 30 Years in Jail for Grand Theft By Missy Diaz Sun-Sentinel September 18, 2007 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-0918delraypastors,0,1533038.story A Feb. 7 trial date has been set for two former priests of Delray Beach's St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church who are each facing 30 years behind bars if convicted as charged of grand theft over $100,000. But the prosecutor on Tuesday said that due to a five-year statute of limitations, the state has reduced the amount of money allegedly stolen by the Rev. John Skehan --who headed the large parish for some 40 years-- by more than $1 million. "The statute of limitations only allows (the state) to go back five years from the time of the filing (of charges)," Assistant State Attorney Preston Mighdoll said. "We're limited to the statutory time frame we're criminally prosecuting, which is approximately $370,000 for Father Skehan, which is lower than what was appearing to be about $1.5 million we saw earlier." Mighdoll said that accountants hired by the Diocese of Palm Beach went back to around 1996 when auditing Skehan. The state is only permitted to bring a case against him for thefts that occurred between the five-year period starting in September 2001 and ending in September 2006, when charges were filed. "It doesn't mean these people weren't stealing from before, but we're limited (to the time period we can prosecute)," Mighdoll said. The amount Skehan's successor, the Rev. Francis Guinan, is accused of stealing from the parish is about $488,000, Mighdoll said, a figure that has remained pretty constant throughout the investigation. Guinan is alleged to have taken the nearly half-million dollars in a 19-month time frame beginning when he became pastor in September 2003 until April 2005. The priests are not charged criminally with misappropriating millions of dollars of offertory cash that should have been given to the Diocese, according to Mighdoll, who explained the distinction between theft and misappropriation. "Misappropriating is monies kept by the church and not reported to the Diocese, but used for the church," he said. A figure of $8.6 million, which includes both the grand theft and misappropriation amounts, has been cited in the past. The misappropriation issue is something to be dealt with by the Diocese, though the exact amount is not clear and Diocese spokeswoman Alexis Walkenstein on Tuesday declined to comment, citing an ongoing criminal investigation. "We have not been specifying on any figures," Walkenstein said. The Irish-born priests are accused of lavishly spending the purported stolen funds on themselves and their girlfriends, including trips to places like the Bahamas and Las Vegas as well as buying real estate and high-end homes. Skehan did not attend Tuesday's status conference before Circuit Judge Sandra McSorley. His attorney, Scott Richardson, said it has been difficult for his client to read stories in the media "about things he supposedly did and he knows in his heart that those stories have been inaccurate for a long time." Despite the pending charges and what amounts to a potential life sentence for the 80-year-old Skehan, Richardson said the priest remains faithful. "He draws strength from the incredible outpouring of support from members of his parish and the community," Richardson said. Guinan, 64, sat quietly in the 11th-floor courtroom Tuesday reading a bible while waiting for his case to be called. He left the proceedings flanked by attorney David Roth, who declined to comment. St. Vincent's current pastor, the Rev. Thomas Skindeleski, showed up with attorney and State Rep. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, who is a personal friend. Skindeleski did not want to comment afterward, but Sachs said he is deeply troubled by the allegations. "This affects the people in his parish and he wants to be sure they're protected and represented," she said. "If there's any money out there it should be returned to the members of St. Vincent's. It's just a travesty of the misuse of people's trust." Missy Diaz can be reached at mdiaz@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5505.
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