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	Brookfield Church Says It Lost $128,000 to Theft By Annysa Johnson Milwaukee Journal Sentinel January 22, 2009 http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/38162664.html St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Brookfield lost nearly $128,000 over three years in thefts from its weekly collection, the church said today. Though a criminal investigation is ongoing, an outside audit found a correlation between the missing funds and the tenure of former pastor Father Leonard Van Vlaenderen, who was arrested in December 2007 on a misdemeanor charge of possessing cocaine. He later pleaded guilty and is on probation. Van Vlaenderen's successor, the Rev. Kenneth P. Knippel, divulged the findings of the audit in a letter to parishioners this month. Knippel said today that it was intended to provide transparency and restore confidence in the church as it embarks on a major capital campaign with the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. "We're starting our Faith in our Future campaign, and we don't want to ask people to give to that noble cause when they're still wondering what happened" with the missing funds, Knippel said. "We wanted our people to know we're serious about caring for their contributions; that we took the steps necessary to find out what happened and try to recoup anything that was stolen." The church's self-insurer, Catholic Mutual Group, reimbursed it for $120,000 of the losses, he said. According to Knippel, Van Vlaenderen arrived at the parish in 2002. A review of church donations found that cash collections dropped from $775 a week in 2001 to $318 to $346 by 2004 and 2005, then increased again in the summer of 2006 while he was temporarily away and again after his departure in 2007. The audit and church's internal investigation concluded that cash was taken from the church safe after money was collected but before it was counted. Van Vlaenderen, 50, pleaded guilty to the cocaine charge in May and was sentenced to one year of probation. If he violates the terms, he could be sent to the House of Correction for 10 months. The Brookfield Police Department said today that it expects to take its criminal case to the Waukesha County district attorney's office for review by the end of the month.
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