Priest with gambling addiction admits to stealing $400K

Joliet Diocese priest with gambling addiction admits to stealing $400K
By DAN ROZEK
Sun-Times

A Roman Catholic priest looted more than $400,000 from his Joliet Diocese church while he served as pastor, then gambled away much of the stolen cash at casinos, DuPage County prosecutors said Thursday.

The Rev. John Regan faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to two felony charges for stealing the cash from St. Walter Parish in Roselle between 2006 and 2008.

But as part of his plea deal with prosecutors, the 47-year-old Regan also is eligible for probation when he is sentenced in August.

Regan, who remains a priest but no longer serves in a parish, said little during his hearing, except to admit to the thefts.

“How do you plead to these two offenses?” Judge John Kinsella asked.

“Guilty,” replied Regan, who remains free on bond until his sentencing.

To hide the thefts, Regan funneled collection plate offerings to a special church account that only he could access — and that no other church leader knew existed, prosecutors said.

“The defendant withdrew cash at ATMs from this account at casinos and also used it for credit card bills,” prosecutor Helen Kapas said in court.

Regan, whose annual salary was about $25,000, also took cash offerings from parishioners and put them in a personal bank account, depositing more than $273,000 between August 2006 and July 2008, she said.

Bank records indicate he withdrew more than $320,000 from the two accounts at ATMs at Harrah’s Joliet Hotel and Casino and Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Kapas said.

Though Regan could be placed on probation, Kapas said she “absolutely” will seek a prison term for the priest, as well as $410,000 in restitution for the money authorities contend he stole.

While Regan pleaded guilty, his attorney disputed prosecutors’ claims about how much the priest stole.

“We may attempt to refute some of these allegations,” defense attorney John Donahue said in court.

Regan previously lived in Joliet and was vocations director for the diocese.

He wrote columns in The Herald-News in 2006 criticizing coverage of how the Joliet Diocese handled sexual abuse allegations. In one column, he wrote of former Bishop Joseph Imesch, “As he has shown us how to learn from his mistakes, may we strive
to learn from ours. … It’s time for all of us, laity, priests, bishops, victims,
lawyers, and reporters, to move on with a positive attitude.”

Two years later, in 2008, Regan was sent by the Joliet diocese to an out-of-state gambling treatment program after church officials began investigating finances at St. Walter’s.

“It is clear that the loss of parish funds were a direct result of a gambling addiction,” the diocese said in a statement following Regan’s guilty plea.

The diocese repaid the church about $295,000 to cover some of the losses.

Regan and his attorney declined to comment as they left the courtroom.