Glenview Priest Accused of Theft Misses Court Again

By Alexandra Chachkevitch
Chicago Tribune
July 14, 2014

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/glenview/chi-glenview-priest-accused-of-theft-misses-court-again-20140714,0,3185585.story

A Glenview priest who has been charged with theft failed to show up in court today for a second time.

The lawyer for the Rev. James Dokos said his client was absent because he had been admitted to a hospital for an emergency. Attorney Patrick Knight told the court commissioner overseeing the hearing in Milwaukee this afternoon that he couldn’t disclose the nature of Dokos’ medical emergency, but that he had called the undisclosed hospital to confirm Dokos has been admitted.

The court commissioner, Barry Phillips, ordered Dokos to appear in court on Thursday and said he would activate a warrant for Dokos’ arrest if fails to appear, unless the priest is still in the hospital. The prosecutor, Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney David Feiss, did not object.

Dokos, who is pastor at Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Glenview, had been scheduled to make his first appearance in court on the theft charge last Thursday. His attorney then told the court that Dokos didn’t make it because of car trouble.

Dokos is accused of improperly spending more than $100,000 that came from a trust fund that was intended primarily to benefit Annunciation Church in Milwaukee, where Dokos long served as pastor before he was moved to Glenview. Authorities alleged he used money from the trust fund to cover items including personal credit card bills and gifts to other Greek Orthodox church officials.

Dokos’ attorneys have denied that he committed any wrongdoing. They have said the prosecution was pushed by Annunciation members who were upset that Dokos was removed from their church and were trying to scapegoat him for their own mismanagement of church funds.Dokos was suspended from church duties after Milwaukee County authorities announced their plans to charge him following a yearlong investigation.

Contact: achachkevitch@tribune.com