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	Defense in Trial of Priest Says He Didn't Steal from Delray Beach Church By Brian Haas South Florida Sun-Sentinel February 18, 2009 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/delraybeach/sfl-flppriest0218pnfeb18,0,2558579.story The theft case against a former Delray Beach priest hinges on one question: Did he steal from his own church or simply spend money that had no strings attached? The Rev. Francis Guinan is accused by prosecutors of playing fast and loose with the offerings at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach, spending it on girlfriends, trips and to support a gambling habit. His defense attorney, Richard Barlow, didn't directly dispute that as the trial began Tuesday. Instead, he said that the Catholic Church gives such wide latitude on priest's expenditures below $50,000 that the money Guinan spent was his to spend. "If they've given him the right and discretion to spend $50,000, he can do it in any which way that priest has decided," Barlow told the jury in his opening remarks. "And that's the way the Catholic Church allows it." Guinan, 66, faces up to 30 years in prison on a charge of grand theft of more than $100,000. He is accused of stealing nearly a half-million dollars from St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church. In his opening statement, Assistant State Attorney Michael Rachel listed multiple trips to Las Vegas, stays at fancy hotels and resorts, lavish home furnishings and renovations and repeated payments to a woman who no longer worked for the church. He described Guinan taking thousands of dollars in cash from church offerings — so much that two of his bookkeepers quit in protest. "How much was misappropriated?" Rachel asked the jury. "We can't give you a figure." Barlow's strategy was more apparent with the first witness in the case. The Very Rev. Charles Notabartolo, vicar general of the Palm Beach County diocese, was asked whether priests have discretion to spend under $50,000 without approval from anyone else. He responded, "They can, yes." "They can and they do, don't they?" Barlow asked. "Yes they do," Notabartolo responded. The vicar general said that such funds are supposed to be spent "for the good of the parish ... not for personal use," but couldn't say if that rule is written anywhere. Guinan's trial began just a month after his predecessor and close friend, the Rev. John Skehan, 81, the former pastor at St. Vincent Ferrer, pleaded guilty to an identical charge. Prosecutors said Skehan stole $370,000 from the church that he spent on a girlfriend, personal trips and homes. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 20. The cases have garnered international attention, with media from the two priests' home country of Ireland paying close attention. Circuit Judge Krista Marx said CBS's 48 Hours may film Guinan's trial as well. The trial is expected to take up to two weeks. Brian Haas can be reached at bhaas@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6633.
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