CANADA
The Ottawa Citizen
By Meghan Hurley and Andrew Duffy, The Ottawa Citizen July 4, 2012
OTTAWA — An 11-month police investigation into financial irregularities at Blessed Sacrament Church has resulted in fraud, theft, money laundering and breach of trust charges against the parish’s former pastor, Rev. Joseph LeClair.
The Ottawa Police fraud investigation covered a period of five years – from January 2006 to May 2011 – and found that more than $240,000 was allegedly misappropriated by LeClair through cheques issued by the priest on church accounts.
Another $160,000 of parish funds were unaccounted for, the police said, while approximately $20,000 in furniture and household items belonging to the parish were allegedly taken from the rectory when the priest left to begin addictions treatment.
Fraud investigators were able to recover some of the items that belonged to the church.
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