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	Bucks Man Who Cited Clergy Abuse Gets Jail for Stealing from Philly Archdiocese By Bonnie L. Cook Philadelphia Inquirer January 7, 2011 http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20110107_Bucks_man_who_cited_clergy_abuse_gets_jail_for_stealing_from_Philly_archdiocese.html A Bucks County man who cited sexual abuse by clergy as one reason he stole a total of $112,226 from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and an addiction-treatment center where he worked is going to jail. Michael W. McDonnell, 42, removed his glasses and wiped his eyes as Judge Albert J. Cepparulo sentenced him to 11 to 23 months in jail, five years' probation, and payment of restitution. The ruling during a hearing in Doylestown bars McDonnell, a former employee of the Southern Bucks Recovery Center, from ever handling a nonprofit's funds again. McDonnell, of Bristol, was arrested and pleaded guilty in 2010 to theft, forgery, and receiving stolen property in connection with $10,767 he misappropriated from donations and payments meant for the center. He also was charged with bilking the archdiocese out of $101,459 in false claims he filed for 661 psychotherapy visits that never occurred. The sessions were granted after McDonnell told the archdiocese in 2007 that as a 12- to 14-year-old, he had been fondled and sexually abused by two priests. The judge listened patiently as William Spade, McDonnell's attorney, tried to introduce expert testimony about the trauma sex-abuse victims suffer, but ultimately would not allow it. "It is your greed alone that has caused this harm," the judge said. "You have harmed those close to you, those trying to help you, and those who were trying to help others." After the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Jay Karsch called the sentence "appropriate." Spade left the courthouse without commenting and could not be reached to determine whether he would appeal the judge's ruling. McDonnell was ushered out of the courtroom to begin serving his term in the Bucks County prison. In one dramatic account related by the judge from the presentencing report, McDonnell told of a priest's lowering his pants during a visit to the Jersey Shore and placing live crabs on his buttocks. Spade told the courtroom that such abuse did not excuse McDonnell's crimes but provided a psychological backdrop for them. McDonnell acknowledged his crimes as "reprehensible." "I was wrong. I'm aware I was wrong," he said. He asked the judge not to incarcerate him, but Cepparulo said, "The last message I want to send is that it is OK to steal as long as you can pay the money back, and as long as you feel sorry about it." The losses to the recovery center, a part of the Council of Southeast Pennsylvania Inc. in Doylestown, surfaced after questions arose about a $400 check written in 2009 by a longtime donor. The man learned that the money had not gone for its intended purpose, but could not get a refund or receipt, according to court records. When a detective traced the money to a TD Bank account held by McDonnell, she found the check and others like it had been spent on his rent, housecleaning, a golf outing, and appointments for his girlfriend with a breast-enhancement specialist, the records said. The detective also found computer evidence of the false charges to the archdiocese from June 2007 to February 2010 for the counseling sessions and mileage to and from the nonexistent visits. The archdiocesan victim-aid unit paid the claims without checking beyond McDonnell's bogus receipts to substantiate the charges, police said. Archdiocesan spokeswoman Donna Farrell declined Thursday night to comment on the case or the sentence. "We hope this does not discourage other sexual-abuse victims from coming forward to the archdiocese," she said. After the hearing, Beverly J. Haberle, the Council of Southeast Pennsylvania's executive director, said she was satisfied with the ruling. "I certainly think everything the judge said was accurate," Haberle said. Contact staff writer Bonnie L. Cook at 610-313-8232 or bcook@phillynews.com
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