By Sadie Gurman
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
September 8, 2011
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11251/1173110-100.stm
The Allegheny County district attorney's office today charged a Swissvale priest with pocketing more than $143,000 in church funds over the course of more than a decade.
The Rev. Francis J. Drabiska, 50, of the Word of God Parish told investigators that between 1999 and 2009, he stole as much as $180,000 in loose cash from the church collections, which he said he used "to live a lifestyle beyond his means," according to a criminal complaint.
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| The Rev. Francis Drabiska |
The district attorney's office charged Rev. Drabiska with felony theft but only for the offenses he is said to have committed in his role as a parish priest in charge of church funds. He resigned in November, and Bishop David A. Zubik appointed the Rev. John Lyman to oversee the Swissvale parish.
Investigators said Rev. Drabiska deposited tens of thousands of stolen dollars into his personal accounts. An accountant for the Diocese of Pittsburgh became concerned in 2005 when he noticed a decline in cash offerings, the complaint says.
The diocese tried to solve the problem with different procedures for collecting and counting offerings and began using tamper-proof money bags, which Rev. Drabiska stopped using after less than a year.
Rev. Drabiska surrendered and was arraigned this morning before District Judge Ross Cioppa, who released him on a nonmonetary bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Sadie Gurman: sgurman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1878.
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