http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-08-22-0204.html
Catholic priest now faces federal charges
Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007 - 12:18 AM
By TOM CAMPBELL AND CALVIN R. TRICE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS
A Catholic priest accused in state court of embezzling from two Louisa
County churches was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on 13
charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and money-laundering.
The Rev. Rodney L. Rodis, 51, had faced 13 embezzlement counts in
Louisa. Its prosecutor will drop the state charges as the federal
government pursues its case in court here.
In Louisa, Rodis was accused of stealing as much as $1 million from
two churches he served as pastor -- St. Jude in Mineral and Immaculate
Conception in Bumpass.
The alleged stealing took place while Rodis was soliciting donations
for his two parishes during capital-improvement campaigns. Church
officials, and later law-enforcement officials, looked into missing
money after Rodis retired last year for what he called health reasons.
Rodis told his parishioners to send their contributions to a
post-office box he controlled, according to the federal indictment. He
would then deposit the checks in his personal bank account and wire
some of it to the Philippines, according to the indictment.
Rodis solicited contributions from parishioners to help reduce the
churches' construction debt and to support the cemetery fund,
religious education and other church functions.
"At least $515,231 of fraudulently obtained funds were transferred by
Rodis outside the United States to addresses in the Philippines," the
indictment says.
R. Don Short, the Louisa commonwealth's attorney, said he had been
aware the federal case was coming. He said last night that he will let
the U.S. attorney's office in Richmond take over prosecution of the
priest.
"We will let the federal government pursue their charges. We will drop
our state charges," Short said.
Rodis' lawyer, Louisa attorney John R. "Jack" Maus, knew the federal
government was investigating his client, so the charges came as no
surprise to him.
But he said he probably will not represent Rodis in the federal case.
Maus said taking the case out of local hands could be a relief for
residents of Louisa -- especially those still torn by their love for
Rodis and their dislike for what he's accused of doing.
Maus and Short said they had not seen the indictment and could not
comment on its contents.
According to the indictment, Rodis hid the fact that although he is a
Catholic priest, he lived with his spouse, Joyce Flores
Sillador-Rodis, and their three children in a subdivision just outside
Fredericksburg. His home was about 50 miles from his churches to help
conceal his relationship from parishioners, the indictment says.
The federal takeover of the case comes less than a week before Rodis
was due for a pretrial hearing in Louisa Circuit Court. Trial was
scheduled for Oct. 1.
Maus was trying to get the state case thrown out of court. At the
hearing next Monday, he would have argued that Rodis, as
diocese-appointed parish priest for the two churches, had a certain
authority under church law to administer the churches' money.
Resolving whether Rodis exceeded his authority would require the
circuit court to get involved in interpretation of church law, Maus
said in his dismissal motion.
The government is constitutionally barred from getting involved in
internal church affairs, Maus said.
William Etherington, a lawyer for the Diocese of Richmond, disagreed
with that argument. "I don't think the First Amendment says that," he
said last month at the time Maus filed his motion in court.
Short said much the same: "I don't think the fact that you're a priest
immunizes you from criminal prosecution."
Contact Tom Campbell at (804) 649-6416 or tcampbell@timesdispatch.com.
Contact Calvin R. Trice at (434) 979-0497 or
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