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	US Prosecutors Drop Charges against Kilkenny Priest Kilkenny Advertiser February 21, 2008 http://www.kilkennyadvertiser.ie/index.php?aid=8970 Prosecutors in the US have dropped charges against a Catholic priest from Kilkenny and a second Irish priest who were accused of pilfering church funds in Florida. It had been alleged Fr John Skehan, a retired priest originally from Johnstown county Kilkenny, and Offaly priest Fr Francis Guinan had misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from the church of St Vincent Ferrer, Delray in Palm Beach, Florida. Last week state prosecutors made a decision to drop the charges against the two Irish priests, but not without a warning that the state attorney intended to refile the charges against Fr Skehan once prosecutors were prepared to try him, possibly in May or June this year. Skehan, 80, and Guinan, 65, had been scheduled to face a jury this month but the decision to drop the charges came after a judge chided the lawyers involved for their delays in exchanging evidence and preparing for the trial. The decision is seen as a tactical one because neither the prosecution nor the defence were prepared to go ahead with the trial in a week's time. The possibility has also been raised of the two priests reaching plea agreements with the state. The two priests were initially charged in September 2006 with stealing offertory money from the Delray Beach church and detectives had estimated they had misappropriated millions from church coffers over more than 40 years at the parish. The two men were portrayed as living a sometimes lavish lifestyle, spending some of the money on trips, gambling and girlfriends. In Fr Skehan's case it was alleged the theft began in 1963 when he first moved to the parish. Because of a five year statute of limitations he was only charged with stealing about €250,000 during five years ending in September 2006 while Fr Guinan was charged with stealing around €330,000. The state attorney has directed the defence attorneys to keep the two priests' passports until further action is decided.
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