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John Regan was the acting priest at the St. Walter Parish in Roselle, Illinois and was trusted by everyone in the congregation. Little did the church goers know, Regan was using church funds on his gambling habit. Regan visited riverboat casinos to play craps and blackjack often and eventually he ran out of money so he began taking money from the church. Regan has a real gambling problem. His addiction to craps and blackjack became so bad, the priest began to sneak out of the church at night to get a fix. Regan was eventually caught in the act and he was sentenced to sixty days in jail this past Tuesday.
The priest had taken almost $300,000 from the Parish and he would take the money by placing offerings and contributions from church members in a secret bank account only he knew about. Judge John Kinsella presided over Regan’s case and he stated that Regan ‘went out in the darkness of night with other people’s money to feed a thrill.’
Kinsella stated that Regan’s betrayal of his congregation was ‘indescribable’. The judge ordered the priest to pay $295,000 in restitution to the church and also serve one hundred and fifty days in work release. He must also perform 500 hours of community service work. The priest was placed on four years of probation and he has been ordered to stay away from gambling.
Regan commented on the situation and apologized for the theft before the sentencing by stating: “I’ve come to the realization that how I could do it was because I have a gambling addiction. My gambling addiction doesn’t know what vocation I have. It just knows I am a human being.”
2011-08-19
