BishopAccountability.org
	Diocese Makes Changes after $800,000 Disappears By Kristin Anderson WKYC October 2, 2007 http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=75384 CLEVELAND — Guilty. That's the verdict a jury handed down to a former accountant in the Cleveland Catholic Diocese. Anton Zgoznik was convicted on all 15 counts for his role in an elaborate kickback scheme. For 7-years he helped steal close to 800-thousand of parishioners' money. The guilty verdict of Zgoznik, and the upcoming trial of his boss, former Chief Financial Officer Joseph Smith, is a relief to the diocese. "We wanted justice to prevail," said Bob Tayek with the Cleveland Catholic Diocese. The stolen money came from Sunday collections from parishes all over Northeast Ohio. Zgoznik would take the money, close to 800-thousand dollars, and write monthly checks to Smith. "He had no reason not to believe that he had the approval of his superiors to do it, because it had been going on for such a long time," said Zgoznik's attorney Robert Rotatori. Because of the elaborate scheme, the Diocese has changed how the money is controlled. To start with they've restructured the Finance Office to create better internal checks and balances. They've separated the Finance and Legal Offices. They've hired independent auditors, done away with outside contractors. And they've created a "Report to the Community" to publicly disclose financial information. "It's the people in the parishes who contribute their hard earned money to the church. It's paramount that we have their trust in doing this," said Tayek. Parishoners at St. John's say the scheme has changed how much money they give. "I've always been careful about what parish and ministries I give to, and if the parish is responsible that tends to influence my giving," said parishioner Nancy Ann Sinclair. "I've given more in the last few weeks because of all the difficulties that's happening in the world today," said parishioner Vyrle Burton. Zgoznik will be sentenced next February and will almost certainly go to prison. Next month, Joe Smith — will go on trial for his alleged role in the kickback scheme Contact: kristinanderson@wkyc.com
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