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	Phone Calls Show Delray Beach Priest Remorseful about Missing Money By Brian Haas South Florida Sun-Sentinel February 19, 2009 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-021909-priest,0,3182843.story The Rev. Francis Guinan told investigators that he was remorseful when asked about money they say he misappropriated, according to a recorded telephone conversation played in court today. Investigators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcment reached Guinan in Australia in 2006, telling him he was about to be arrested on a count of grand theft over $100,000. During the conversation, he was asked if he was remorseful about paying for things like his personal credit card balances with church funds. "Well, yeah, yeah," he responded. "It could have been handled differently." A few minutes later, when asked if he would consider repaying the money, he responded, "Yes, I would." Guinan, 66, faces up to 30 years in prison on the charge. He is accused of stealing nearly a half-million dollars from St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach, spending it on girlfriends, trips and supporting a gambling habit. Yesterday, witnesses detailed slush funds, shredded records and missing wads of cash from the church offertory. Guinan's defense attorney, Richard Barlow, has previously argued that his client's spending may not have looked good, but it was not illegal. "You may not like the way I do it, but I have discretion to do it," Barlow said of his client's actions. Denis Hamel, chief financial officer for the Diocese of Palm Beach, went through a long list of credit card receipts showing Guinan made trips to Las Vegas, Georgia and spent large sums of money on furniture, expensive dinners and airline tickets. He said the church ended up paying for the credit card bills, which was improper. Two bookkeepers said they quit in protest over what they saw as the inappropriate handling of money by Guinan. Renee Wardrip, bookkeeper at the church for 15 years, described secret bank accounts kept to hide the money from the diocese. She also said Guinan simply made up numbers for their deposits. And the real accounting books? "They were shredded," she said. She said Guinan spent little time in church offices, except for Tuesday when the weekend offertory was counted up. He'd then leave with wads of cash, she said. Her successor, Apple Woo, quit after only about three months on the job. Through tears, Woo recalled a letter she wrote to Guinan, begging him to keep better books. "Please consider my request to follow the guidelines of the diocese meeting," she said. "I hope that you can honor my desire so I can continue to dedicate myself to my God, to my job."
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