Rodis Reindicted on Embezzlement Charges in Louisa
By Ellen Biltz
Free Lance-Star
May 6, 2008
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/052008/05062008/377128
The Louisa priest who stole as much as $1 million from parishioners at two churches, was indicted yesterday on 13 counts of embezzlement in Louisa County Circuit Court.
Rodney Rodis, 51, was convicted of mail fraud and money laundering in federal court last October and was sentenced to 63 months in prison in February.
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He was also ordered to pay close to $600,000 in restitution to the Richmond Diocese, although very little has been paid, according to federal prosecutors.
When the federal charges were brought last year, Louisa Commonwealth's Attorney Don Short dropped the 13 charges Rodis was being held on in the county.
Short lost re-election last year to Thomas Garrett, who took over in January.
Now, Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Rusty McGuire said the direct indictments are a reinstatement of the previous charges.
"[Dropping charges] was a previous administration's decision," McGuire said.
No court date has been set because Rodis will have to be brought from federal prison to be tried in the county, McGuire said.
The prosecutor would not say what sparked the desire to bring back the charges, but did say it came after talking with former parishioners.
At Rodis' sentencing, parishioners from both St. Mary's and Immaculate Conception Catholic churches, where Rodis was a priest for about 13 years, expressed dissatisfaction at a sentence that many considered a slap on the wrist.
"When you talk about someone who embezzled money from you after giving you a holy sacrament for years, there's a significant trust issue there," McGuire said. "What is a significant sentence for that? I don't know, but we're going to see what happens now with these charges."
Rodis was initially charged with embezzling money from the two Louisa churches and sending the money home to the Philippines.
Since then, it has been made public that Rodis had a wife and children whom he was living with in Spotsylvania.
Parishioners have said since his initial arrest how much their trust has been breached by a man they looked up to and respected.
After Rodis pleaded guilty last October, one St. Jude parishioner, Kathleen Pfeiffer, spoke of her feelings about Rodis.
She said at the time, "We just feel so betrayed."
Ellen Biltz: 540/374-5424; Email: ebiltz@freelancestar.com.
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