Ex-New York Mills Pastor Admits Stealing $87,000
The Observer-Dispatch
UTICA — Whenever the collection was taken at the Church of the Sacred Heart and St. Mary Our Lady of Czestochowa in New York Mills, the parishioners believed their charity was going to benefit the church. Instead, the money went to help their longtime pastor, the Rev. Valentine Krul, live a better a life, including buying a condominium in Florida, prosecutors said. On Wednesday, Krul, 61, of Forestport, pleaded guilty in Oneida County Court to second-degree grand larceny for stealing more than $87,000 from the church between October 2008 and January 2011. Krul was taken into custody after his plea to begin serving six months in Oneida County jail, where he once worked as chaplain for the Sheriff's Office. Krul will return to court Wednesday, March 7, to be sentenced by Judge Barry M. Donalty to five years of probation, including jail time. The Rev. Arthur Krawczenko – who took over as pastor in July after Krul left in early 2011 – said the parish is a forgiving group of people with "big hearts." "We are saddened at what happened, but the only way forward is to pick up from here and move on," Krawczenko said. "Our thoughts and prayers are for Father Val, and I think there is forgiveness. We Christians, we are all broken, but we believe in forgiveness and reconciliation." During his plea, Krul said he withdrew $87,291.22 from the church's three accounts for his personal use while pastor. Krul has been a priest for 34 years, including 17 years at St. Mary. More than $46,000 went toward buying a home in Florida, he admitted. "They didn't benefit St. Mary or the parishioners at all, did they?" Donalty asked Krul about the stolen donations. "No, sir," Krul replied alongside his attorney, William Borrill. Krul will be required to pay back the money by selling his Florida home and by using his retirement funds. The thefts were discovered last year during a routine audit after Krul asked for a leave of absence, First Assistant District Attorney Michael Coluzza said. After leaving the church, Krul entered a six-month rehabilitation program in Maryland that was completed over the summer, Krul said in court. Krul was treated for "stress, depression and anxiety," as well as alcohol abuse that included a DWI arrest in 2007 following a motor vehicle accident in New Hartford. Although Krul currently is suspended from any priestly duties, a spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse said it is too premature to predict whether any actions will be taken to defrock Krul. Bishop Robert Cunningham, of the Syracuse diocese, would have to first initiate any proceedings against Krul, spokeswoman Danielle Cummings said, and the matter could ultimately wind up in the hands of the Vatican for further review. Whatever Krul’s reasons might have been, Cummings said we are all taught as children that it is wrong to take things that aren’t ours. And while Krul’s misuse of the parish’s funds is “very sad,” Cummings said it’s also “very sad” for those parishioners who have learned that their donations were not being used in the way they had hoped. “I hope that Father Krul, in this very difficult time, will come to a point – and he may already have – of realizing the impact of this and figuring out a way of moving forward in a very positive way through the grace of God,” Cummings said.
|
.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.