Priest Accused of Stealing $380k from Bonneauville Church

By Steve Marroni
The Evening Sun
October 31, 2012

http://www.eveningsun.com/news/ci_21898168/priest-accused-stealing-380k-from-bonneauville-church

A priest who formerly served at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Bonneauville is accused of stealing more than $380,000 from the church.

A preliminary arraignment is set for Thursday for Caesar A. Belchez, 52, on third-degree felony charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, and access device fraud.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg spokesman Joseph Aponick said Belchez has since been "relieved of all priestly duties," which includes being barred from celebrating Mass, preaching, hearing confession, wearing priestly attire or presenting himself as a priest in good standing.

Charging documents indicate in the five years Belchez was assigned to the Bonneauville church, he took a total of $384,750.76 in cash, checks and credit cards issued to the parish.

Aponick said Belchez came to St. Joseph the Worker Parish in 2006, and last year moved to St. Joseph's Parish in Dallastown as part of a regular change of assignments.

When Father Augusty T. Valomchalil replaced Belchez in Bonneauville, he noticed some financial irregularities. Valomchalil contacted the Diocese, which in turn contacted the Pennsylvania State Police at Gettysburg, which initiated an investigation in July 2011.

According to court documents, prior to Belchez's arrival the Bonneauville church had an annual operating deficit of approximately $16,000, and in the time since Belchez's arrival, the church lost about $150,000 per year.

The Diocese also discovered a Merrill Lynch account that had been established through a gift of stocks and equities donated to the parish, and $123,000 from that account had been transferred to Belchez's personal bank account, court documents state.

The Diocese then conducted a forensic audit, showing even more financial irregularities, like $190,700.36 transferred from several church accounts to Belchez's eTrade account and several other accounts.

The audit also revealed $72,766.81 worth of unauthorized charges to parish credit cards, and $23,283.59 worth of checks written to Belchez, documents state.

Belchez is also accused of taking about $98,000 from petty cash and a food drawer, as well as several other checks and withdrawals made from parish accounts.

Trooper Curtis Whitmoyer interviewed Belchez on Oct. 12, and Belchez admitted to taking the funds without permission, court documents state. He also admitted to using the church credit cards for personal use, and said he has about $70,000 left in his eTrade account, police indicate.

Police filed charges against Belchez Monday.

Aponick said the Diocese maintains a zero-tolerance policy for malfeasance, and immediately reports matters of this nature to the authorities.

Belchez was ordained in 1995. His assignment in Bonneauville was his fifth, but was the first in which he had control of the church's financial resources, according to the Diocese.

He was relieved of his priestly duties Nov. 15.

The Diocese takes such charges seriously, and uses the utmost care of the funds entrusted to it by parishioners, Aponick said.