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	Police: More Charges Could Be Coming for Woman Arrested in Waco Catholic Church Embezzlement By Erin Quinn Waco Tribune-Herald March 4, 2009 http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/03/04/03042009wacchurchtheft.html Waco police say more charges could be filed against St. Jerome Catholic Church’s former youth coordinator, who has been charged with embezzling more than $154,000 from the church. Patricia Ladawn Poehls, 37, of Bruceville, was arrested Feb. 16 in Houston on a Waco Police Department warrant filed Dec. 15. Poehls was booked into the McLennan County Jail on Thursday on a charge of theft of more than $100,000 and less than $200,000. She was released the same day on $15,000 bond, a jail spokesman said. According to an arrest warrant affidavit filed by the Waco Police Department, Poehls admitted to stealing money from the Chapel Road church by writing checks for her personal gain using the pastor’s electronic signature, and with the church’s credit card. The arrest warrant affidavit states that between January and June of 2008, Poehls stole $154,329.27 from the church to pay for “school, hotels, airplane tickets and other items” for her personal use. When asked by a detective, she estimated she stole between $10,000 and $30,000 from the church. In the affidavit, Poehls said she needed the money because she had separated from her husband and needed to “maintain her household, keep her children in Catholic school and her family fed and clothed.” Poehls began preparing payroll, processing accounts payable checks to pay vendors and prepared the quarterly report to the Catholic Diocese of Austin in May 2005. In Nov. 2007, she found a digital signature from the church’s pastor on the business manager’s computer, the affidavit states. According to the affidavit, the missing funds include $48,166.10 from a church credit card, $81,953.62 in questionable checks and $24,209.55 from checks written to Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. David Deaconson, the church’s attorney, said the church held a town hall meeting on the issue Sunday night. More than 100 of the nearly 500 parishioners attended, he said. “The mood was generally sadness, and concern for her kids and her,” Deaconson said. “Obviously, any time you’ve got someone in that potential position, there’s always a little bit of anger as well.” Deaconson said because the church runs primarily on donations, the money in question likely was given to the church as offerings. He said the church, as well as the Diocese of Austin, is cooperating with authorities, and reported the potential wrongdoing as soon as it was suspected. Attempts to reach Poehls for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful. Contact: equinn@wacotrib.com or 757-5748
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