Posted on 08/10/2008 10:42:26 AM PDT by Gamecock
A Chicago-area Roman Catholic priest was charged Friday with stealing from his former North Side parish.
Rev. Steven Patte, 64, pleaded not guilty in Cook County Circuit Judge William Lacy's courtroom....
The eight-count indictment charged Patte stole a little more than $12,000 from St. Ita's Parish....
A Chicago police detective who belonged to the parish's finance committee grew suspicious about accounting discrepancies and placed a marked $100 bill in the collection plate, sources familiar with the case said.
Later, when the bill disappeared, Patte was confronted and allegedly admitted that he took the money for his personal use, the sources said.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
In our parish, a member of the finance council puts it in the safe after each service and then it is counted by 4 non-related people and an FC member. 2 of them take it to the bank.
I am the bookkeeper and I know about how much we should be getting and as the bookkeeper, I never handle cash. The checks have to be stamped, deposit only, and the bank knows that no check written out to our parish is to be cashed, ever.
Oh yeah, the room where they count the money has a window in it so anyone can go watch them count.
That sounds excellent. Good controls can be a pain but they are well worth it.
The usual suspects never fail to disappoint.
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