Police asked to probe church's finances

Police asked to probe church's finances
Review of Blessed Sacrament's administration reveals 'questionable transactions'
By Andrew Duffy And Meghan Hurley, Ottawa Citizen


Ottawa police have been called in to probe financial irregularities at Blessed Sacrament Parish during the last four years of Father Joseph LeClair's tenure as church pastor.

Results of a six-month review by the Archdiocese of Ottawa - it included an audit by Deloitte and Touche LLP - were announced in a letter issued Saturday to parishioners of the Glebe church.

"As for the issues touching on Fr. LeClair's administration of the parish, our review has found that there are questionable transactions that require further investigation," concludes the letter from Msgr. Kevin Beach, vicar general of the archdiocese.

"As a result, we have referred the matter to the Ottawa Police Service for investigation."

The review found a series of problems with financial practices at the church when Le-Clair was pastor.

It raised concerns about the handling of Sunday collections, the misuse of church accounts, the failure to set aside refugee sponsorship money and deficient accounting practices.

What's more, Beach said in his two-page letter, the diocese still has unanswered questions about LeClair's use of church funds.

"We have not been able to substantiate some amounts that have been claimed by him as parish expenses," Beach wrote. "In addition, other amounts were paid to Fr. Le-Clair which were designated as discretionary allowances and stipends."

The letter gives no indication as to how much money is at issue.

LeClair has not seen the audit, Beach noted, and has not had the opportunity to respond to it.

The former Blessed Sacrament pastor admitted in April he had a gambling problem after the Citizen published a story that revealed the extent of his addiction and the ease with which he could access church funds.

He resigned as pastor in late May and is now in a specialized addictions treatment program in Aurora.

An immensely popular priest, LeClair, 53, has repeatedly denied taking church money or using it to gamble.

Blessed Sacrament reported deficits in four of the past five years despite taking in $2.95 million during that time.

The archdiocese's review found that the church was in a net deficit position of $40,718 by the end of May, just after LeClair's departure.

The church's financial position was so poor by then that it did not have enough cash in the bank to cover $50,000 worth of refugee sponsorships. Blessed Sacrament had received two private donations, worth $25,000 each, but the money had gone into the church's main account, rather than a reserve fund.

In his letter, Beach told parishioners that the decision to bring in the police was a difficult one given LeClair's success as a community builder, counsellor and leader at Blessed Sacrament. "There are, however, important issues that need to be investigated," Beach said, "in the context of a matter that has received broad community interest."

Until now, Ottawa police have been unable to launch a probe at Blessed Sacrament despite receiving at least three complaints from concerned church donors.

Chief Vern White said his officers could not retrieve documents at the parish without the co-operation of the diocese, which oversees the church.

Detectives from the police fraud section will now lead the investigation.

Parishioners were reluctant to speak to a Citizen reporter after Saturday's mass. "We don't have anything to say," one woman said as she left the church. Another woman gaped when told the contents of the letter, but she, too, refused comment.

LeClair, a charismatic priest who made Blessed Sacrament Parish one of the most successful in the city, has insisted that he used his own money and winnings to fund his casino gambling.

In April, the Citizen revealed that LeClair received more than $137,000 in cash advances on his credit card at Casino du Lac-Leamy during 2009 and 2010. He withdrew up to $9,427.50 using Visa on a single night, according to documents obtained by the newspaper.

LeClair racked up personal credit card bills of more than $490,000 during those two years and repaid Visa more than $424,000.

At the time, LeClair earned a net salary of $24,400; he also received money for marriage counselling and for officiating at weddings, baptisms and funerals.

As Blessed Sacrament's pastor, Le-Clair was responsible to the diocese for the financial administration of the church. But the church's financial system relied heavily on trust.

LeClair could write cheques to himself from church accounts without a counter-signature. What's more, he did not have to submit corresponding receipts in order to have a cheque approved.

The church had a finance committee, but it didn't meet as a group last year. The former chair of that committee, Herve Dejordy, served as the church's principal accountant but did not fulfil the role of comptroller. He considered himself a bookkeeper.

"I wouldn't approve anything: If he (LeClair) writes a cheque, I just record the cheque," Dejordy told the Citizen in June, weeks before being fired from his volunteer position by the diocese.

The diocese received annual financial statements from Blessed Sacrament, but did not routinely audit them.

The church's handling of collecion money was also less-than-rigorus when compared to other parishs.

Collection proceeds were kept in canvas bags in LeClair's unlocked office in the church rectory. The money was often not counted until Monday or Tuesday. Weekly collection totals were not published in the church bulletin.

Auditors were first called in to review the church's books in early March after diocesan officials became aware of financial irregularities.

Deloitte and Touche auditors initially raised questions about some $250,000 worth of cheques issued to LeClair from church accounts between 2006 and 2010.

The auditors recommended measures to improve financial accountability at the church, including that all cheques be counter-signed.

LeClair's lawyer, Ian Stauffer, pointed to the results of that initial audit as exculpatory evidence after the Citizen confronted the Blessed Sacrament pastor with questions about church finances. LeClair referred all questions to his lawyer.

"From Father Joe's perspective, the auditors have exonerated Father Joe," Stauffer said in April.

After the Citizen published its story about LeClair's gambling and spending, the diocese ordered a more thorough audit of Blessed Sacrament's books.

The results of that audit, which took four months to complete, formed the basis of Saturday's announcement.

The Citizen was unable to reach lawyer Ian Stauffer or former Blessed Sacrament accountant, Herve Dejourdy, for comment last night.

LeClair was born and raised on Prince Edward Island. He worked as an elementary school teacher and social services worker before being ordained a priest 25 years ago.

He was appointed to Blessed Sacrament in 1997 and revitalized the parish, which had seen its attendance dwindle. Renowned for his storytelling and his tireless work on behalf of parishioners, LeClair became one of the city's best known priests. He hosted a radio show on CFRA and officiated at the weddings of former mayor Larry O'Brien and Senators defenceman Chris Phillips.