Saturday, August 30, 2014

A Gemme of a Priest

"Priest indicted in thefts at Northborough parish" by Travis Andersen | Globe Staff   August 26, 2014

A Roman Catholic priest has been indicted on charges of stealing nearly $240,000 over several years from the Northborough parish where he served as pastor, according to the office of Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.

The Rev. Stephen M. Gemme is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Worcester Superior Court on five counts of larceny....

According to prosecutors, Gemme allegedly siphoned the cash from the parish and school starting in January 2008.

Last October, Bishop Robert J. McManus of the Diocese of Worcester wrote in a letter posted on the St. Bernadette website that Gemme had resigned his position after spending more than $120,000 in parish funds and more than $110,000 from the St. Bernadette School for personal expenditures.

McManus first learned of the missing money in July 2013 when a member of the St. Bernadette School Advisory Board came to him with concerns about spending from an account in the school budget, he wrote in the letter.

The next day, McManus met with Gemme, who admitted he had a gambling problem, the bishop said.

Oh, thank God it's not, you know, the other thing. Seems like one thing leads to the other, but what happens in the confessional stays in the confe$$ional, 'eh?

McManus then revoked Gemme’s check-signing privileges, requested a review of parish finances, and arranged a medical leave for Gemme to undergo treatment for gambling addiction....

You guys just can't help but cover up, huh? 

I can see why he's boozing, but driving while drunk?

--more--"

Related:

"Drug supplier for Connecticut’s ‘Monsignor Meth’ gets 5 years

A woman who authorities say helped supply nearly 10 pounds of methamphetamine to a drug operation run by a Connecticut Catholic priest dubbed “Monsignor Meth” was sentenced this week to five years in prison. The Connecticut Post reported that 49-year-old Kristen Laschober of Laguna Niguel, Calif., was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Hartford. She and her boyfriend, Chad McCluskey of San Clemente, Calif., pleaded guilty last year to drug conspiracy charges connected to their meth business with Monsignor Kevin Wallin, who has since been suspended. McCluskey was sentenced to more than five years in prison in June. Wallin was nicknamed “Monsignor Meth” in media reports. He pleaded guilty to a federal drug charge and awaits sentencing for selling large quantities of meth out of his apartment in Waterbury."

Related: Monsignor Meth Meets His Maker 

Hope I didn't give you a hangover.