BishopAccountability.org
	Authorities Seek Prison Term for Darien Priest By Donna Porstner The Advocate November 27, 2007 http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-priest1127,0,3193988.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines Federal prosecutors are recommending that the pastor who embezzled from his Darien church serve at least three years and eight months behind bars. The case of the Rev. Michael Jude Fay meets the guidelines for 46 months to 57 months in prison, based on federal sentencing guidelines for thefts of $1 million to $2.5 million, according to court papers filed Monday. Fay is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 4 in U.S. District Court in New Haven. The final sentence is up to the judge, said Tom Carson, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney¹s Office in New Haven. The guidelines ³are completely advisory,² he said. Fay, who was pastor of St. John Roman Catholic Church on the Post Road from 1991 to 2006, pleaded guilty in September to one count of interstate transportation of money obtained by fraud. Prosecutors say Fay stole $1.3 million from 1999 to 2006 to lead a life of luxury. Credit card records obtained by The Advocate show the priest used church funds to purchase designer clothing, expensive jewelry, alcohol, limousine rides and dinners at the finest restaurants. Had the case gone to trial, prosecutors said they could have proved Fay deposited more than $980,000 in church funds into two secret bank accounts he used largely for personal expenses. The government also claimed to have evidence that Fay ordered a church employee to transfer $34,000 into his personal account for the down payment on a Philadelphia condominium. An 2006 audit by the Bridgeport Diocese found Fay inappropriately spent $1.4 million over six years, using church funds to purchase airline tickets, Ethan Allen furniture, Cartier jewelry, Tumi luggage and Giorgio Armani clothing, among other items. During his September court appearance, Fay said he stole $400,000 to $1 million which, under federal sentencing guidelines, would put him in jail for 37 months to 46 months. He agreed to waive his right to appeal as long as his sentence does not exceed 57 months. Fay, who has prostate cancer, sought to have his sentencing delayed until April, when he¹s finished with chemotherapy treatments, but the request was denied. The judge is expected to order restitution during the sentencing, Carson said. The Rev. Frank McGrath, the pastor who replaced Fay at St. John, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.