According to the Catholic News Service, an Ohio priest and his parish are under investigation for missing funds. The parish, about three hours southwest of Cleveland, is the third-largest suburb of Dayton.The Huber Heights Police Department and the county prosecutor received a report of missing parish monies in late March. Soon afterwards, the priest announced that he was retiring for medical reasons. The Cincinnati Archdiocese says it's not yet known how much money is missing from the parish, though its own auditors and an outside auditing firm have both conducted investigations.
The news of the financial irregularities close to home comes on the heels of an announcement of the federal fraud and tax evasion indictment of a priest in the San Jose Diocese.
He allegedly transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations into his own bank account, a prosecutor alleged. He faces 14 counts of bank fraud and a charge of not reporting the illicit income between 2008 and 2011, according to the news report. The priest, originally from California, was ordained 30 years ago, and taken into custody late last month.
In cases similar to the one in Ohio, in which a person has reason to believe they are under investigation, it is best not to talk to investigators, police or prosecutors before speaking with a criminal tax attorney. There is no good reason to wait until an indictment is handed down. In fact, by acting quickly with the help of an experienced attorney, it is in some cases possible to avoid indictment entirely and secure a favorable agreement to resolve matters in dispute.
