| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Don Martin" |
| Date: |
30 Oct 2007 06:57:05 AM |
| Object: |
It's nice to know they are not _all_ pedophiles |
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/three-priests-set-up-failed-busines=
s--called-shag-1207044.html
Three priests set up failed business called Shag
By Edel Kennedy
Monday October 29 2007
TWO Irish priests accused of misappropriating millions from a Florida
church had formed a mortgage company with another priest called Shag
Inc.
Fr John Skehan (80), originally from Johnstown, Kilkenny, and Fr
Francis Guinan (64), originally from Birr, Co Offaly, are accused in
relation to $8.6m missing from church coffers.
The two men are accused of using offertory dollars to keep
girlfriends, take gambling excursions and foreign holidays, and buy
property.
It has emerged the two pensioners invested hundreds of thousands of
dollars in Shag Inc, a failed mortgage loan scheme. Records show it
was formed in 1984 and dissolved a decade later.
The third priest has been named as Michael Hickey, a priest assigned
to several parishes in Florida, who had a long history of drink
driving.
Banned
The 71-year-old was charged with driving under the influence five
times between 1979 and 1999 and he was banned from driving in 1999.
Shag appears to be an acronym made up of the first letter of the
pensioners' last names: Skehan, Hickey and Guinan.
Their investment history was mixed, with one of their clients later
being jailed for defrauding clients of more than =E2=82=AC2m. William
Cartwright borrowed money totalling $177,000 from the priests to make
loans based on mortgages. The money ran out and he filed for
bankruptcy, with investors receiving about 50 cents in the dollar.
However, he was jailed for seven years for defrauding customers in a
separate property scheme.
The men had listed the address of the company at St Patrick's Church
near Palm Beach Gardens, where Guinan served for 16 years.
A small group of parishioners discovered Shag's connection to the
Cartwright fiasco when, suspicious of Guinan's handling of their
church's finances, they conducted an investigation in the early 1990s.
They confronted Guinan, who denied them access to parish financial
records.
After a year, they took their case to diocesan officials, who
conducted an audit but determined that Guinan had done nothing
irregular.
When he was transferred from St Patrick's to another parish in 2003,
the diocese conducted another routine audit of the church finances.
His successor described the finances as "a mess" and installed new
financial accountability measures at the parish.
Police investigating the missing millions are limited to going back
just five years. However the diocese is not bound by such limitations.
Missing
Palm Beach diocese spokeswoman Alexis Walkenstein said they are
seeking to have all the funds reimbursed. When asked about Shag, she
said it was "pretty unusual for priests to form for-profit
corporations".
"However because diocesan priests do not take a vow of poverty, there
is no rule to prevent diocesan priests from accumulating wealth as
long as it is within legal and moral confines," she said.
"I am not going to comment on the Shag corporation because that entity
was not part of the diocese of Palm Beach."
Skehan and Guinan were arrested last September on suspicion of
stealing millions in offerings and gifts made to their parish as far
back as 40 years ago. They are likely to be charged with stealing less
than $1m when the case goes to trial next February but could face jail
sentences of up to 30 years if they are found guilty.
However, they are likely to enter a plea bargain, which would see them
serving around four years.
Donations
Skehan is thought by prosecutors to have stolen $1.5m from the
Catholic church in Delray Beach between 1996 and 2003 alone.
But the state attorney's office has said that charges cannot be
brought in relation to $1.1m of these missing donations because of the
five year statute of limitations.
Guinan will be accused of stealing about $488,000 from the parish
between September 2003 and April 2005 after he took over from Fr
Skehan.
Both men are free on bail of $40,000.
It is believed that Hickey may now be in Ireland.
- Edel Kennedy
.
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: It's nice to know they are not _all_ pedophiles |
30 Oct 2007 12:51:48 PM |
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On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 04:57:05 -0700, Don Martin
<drdonmartin@comcast.net> wrote:
After a year, they took their case to diocesan officials, who
conducted an audit but determined that Guinan had done nothing
irregular.
I wonder how much that finding cost the priests. (Thirty-five year's
worth of theft that's beyond the statute of limitations must add up to
some stash.)
--
Al at Webdingers dot com
"My earlier views of the unsoundness of the Christian scheme of salvation
and the human origin of the scriptures, have become clearer and stronger
with advancing years and I see no reason for thinking I shall ever change
them."
- Abraham Lincoln
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