Public Costs of Gambling

Priest's $300,000 theft puts spotlight on gambling addiction
Experts split on whether legal wagering causes more economic harm than good
By John Keilman and Art Barnum, TRIBUNE REPORTERS

Within weeks of arriving at Roselle's St. Walter Catholic Church, the Rev. John Regan began stealing from the collection plate to fund his gambling addiction.

He stashed checks in a private bank account and spent the money at casinos in Elgin and Joliet. He lost big, blowing $116,000 in less than a year at one of the riverboats, prosecutors say. By the time the Diocese of Joliet figured out what was going on, Regan, who last week pleaded guilty to theft, had taken nearly $300,000.

It's a striking case but not an unusual one, say addiction counselors, and it illustrates a problem they expect to grow if gambling expands in Illinois

Two to 3 percent of adults are problem gamblers, experts say, and they can exact a tremendous toll on their families and communities. As Gov. Pat Quinn weighs whether to allow five new casinos and thousands of new slot machines, advocates hope he will make one question part of his calculations:

Is gambling's social cost greater than its payout?

Researchers have examined this for years, and some have concluded that the answer is yes. Baylor University economist Earl Grinols estimates that for every dollar gambling brings in, three dollars are lost on crime, unemployment, addiction treatment and other costs.

"The research indicates that the damage is bigger than benefits to society," he said.

The priest arrived at St. Walter in June 2006 after 13 years as the Joliet Diocese's vocations director. Regan, now 47, swiftly made a good impression.

"I thought he was really great," said parishioner Karen Gerovac, 69. "His services were very meaningful. I just thought he was a real terrific person."

But DuPage County prosecutors say that within a month of becoming pastor, Regan opened at a local bank the "Church of St. Walter Special Needs Account." He alone had access to it.

That was where he secreted a $500 check Gerovac had written to the church, along with many other contributions. From that account, authorities said, Regan wrote checks to himself and made hundreds of ATM withdrawals at Harrah's in Joliet and Grand Victoria in Elgin.

Keith Whyte, executive director of the Washington-based National Council on Problem Gambling, said thievery is a hallmark of gamblers who are over their heads.

"Many, if not most problem gamblers report committing white collar crimes to finance their gambling," he said. "They tell themselves they're just borrowing the money and will pay it back once they hit it big."

Regan's pilfering continued for about two years until the bank noticed suspicious transactions and alerted the diocese, which swiftly uncovered the thefts, officials say. The diocese says it immediately alerted authorities and suspended Regan from priestly ministry.

Spokesman Doug Delaney said the diocese repaid the parish for the thefts, with some of the money coming from insurance and some from other funds. He said Regan, who made $25,000 a year as a priest, has agreed to reimburse the diocese.

Church officials did not pay for Regan's legal defense, but they have had to absorb other expenses related to his crime. They sent him to a Pennsylvania behavioral health center that specializes in treating the addictions of Catholic clergy. They got another priest to replace him at St. Walter. And they continue to pay for his lodging, housing him with another priest (Delaney did not know the dollar value of these items, but said they were likely minimal).

There were public expenses, too, including the investigation and prosecution conducted by the DuPage County state's attorney's office and the 10 days Regan spent in the DuPage County Jail (officials could not provide an estimate of those costs).

And should he receive prison time — he could receive anything from probation to 15 years behind bars at his August sentencing — the public tab would go higher still: It costs the Illinois Department of Corrections about $22,000 to house an inmate for a year.

Researchers have added up those expenses and others, including lost work time, unemployment and stress-related illness, to estimate of the social toll of problem gamblers. Grinols, the Baylor economist, calculates that introducing gambling in a community costs each adult $166, while returning only $54 in benefits.

Researchers actually have looked at that question: A 1999 study by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center concluded that the prevalence of problem gambling is twice as high for those living within 50 miles of a casino as it is for those who live farther away.