Oct 23, 2006 2:14 pm US/Eastern
Priest Arrested For Stealing Millions From Parish
This Is The Second Priest Arrested For Alleged Theft
by Jorge Estevez
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Rev. Francis Guinan was arrested for allegedly stealing money from a South Florida church.
CBS
A Roman Catholic priest, on the run from authorities for allegedly stealing more than eight million dollars in offerings and gifts made to his parish, has been arrested.
Rev. Francis Guinan was arrested Sunday afternoon after passing through customs at Miami International Airport, according to the arrest affidavit. Authorities were alerted to Guinan through his passport. Authorities told Guinan that there was a warrant out for his arrest and he was taken into custody without incident.
Rev. Guinan is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without bond.
Guinan is the second priest to be arrested in connection with this case. In September, investigators arrested Monsignor John Skehan at Palm Beach International Airport after he returned from Ireland.
Together, authorities say, the two stole 8.6 million dollars from St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach, in a span of over 40 years.
Monsignor Skehan is alleged to have used the money to buy property and other assets. Rev. Guinan is alleged to have used his share of the stolen money to take gambling trips to Las Vegas and the Bahamas.
An anonymous tip in June 2005 led police and the church to launch the investigation.
''These guys lived the life they told everyone else not to live and they lived it on everyone else's dime,'' police spokesman officer Jeff Messer said last month. "And one of the seven deadly sins is greed.''
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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