Florida Flock Fleeced

I'm a Catholic. Always have been. Yes, I know that priests are human, but this really bothers me. It bothers me because the Catholic Church took so long in discovering this story...

MIAMI (Reuters) - Two Roman Catholic priests allegedly misappropriated more than $8 million from their church and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on real estate, travel, rare coins and girlfriends, police in Florida said on Friday.


Former St. Vincent Ferrer Church pastor John Skehan, 79, (left) was arrested on a charge of grand theft over $100,000 and was being held in the Palm Beach County jail on a $400,000 bond.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Father Francis Guinan, 63, (right) on the same charge. He was on a cruise in Australia but had contacted the police, the Palm Beach Post reported.

"We believe that our investigation has shown that the two allegedly have misappropriated more than $8 million and have used it for personal use or for other purchases," said Paige Patterson-Hughes, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

According to a police affidavit, Skehan invested heavily in rare coins, once buying $275,000 worth in a single day. He owned a cottage and a pub in Ireland, a penthouse condo worth $455,000 in Singer Island, Florida, and another condo in Delray Beach, the document said.

The thefts took took place over a period of years when Skehan served as St. Vincent parish priest and continued when Guinan took over as pastor three years ago, police said.

Some of the misappropriated funds may have benefited the church, Delray Beach police spokesman Jeff Messer said.

"They were skimming cash out of the offering plates and other donations that came into the church," he said. "They were spending some on church projects and they were spending a lot on themselves, for vacations, buying properties, gambling trips to Las Vegas and the Bahamas, and alleged girlfriends."

"We can prove several hundred thousand has been spent on personal use by each of them. They may have done some good for the church," Messer said, adding that a church audit covered more than four decades that Skehan served at the church.

A lawyer for Skehan was not immediately available for comment.

LAVISH LIFESTYLE

The Diocese of Palm Beach said it started investigating allegations of missing funds around April of 2005, about a month before police launched their own probe following an anonymous tip.

-A forensic accounting firm hired by the Diocese found that $8,690,593 was misappropriated during the tenures of Skehan and Guinan, the police affidavit said.

-A female bookkeeper at a Palm Beach County church with whom Guinan allegedly had an "intimate" relationship received $47,000 from the slush funds in 2004.

-Guinan characterized as a "gambler and heavy drinker."

-Guinan often took lavish vacations to Las Vegas and the Bahamas

-Skehan paid a girlfriend under the table and paid off a car loan for her with money from the church.

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I'd like to thank these jerks for ripping us off and for making us look stupid. Would they agree that God has a special place for them in the next life?

Ronn Mott

Driving to work this morning I was listening to friend and former co-worker Ronn Mott on WAXI, Gold 104.9. He played Barbara Lewis' "You Lose A Good Thing." Suddenly I wasn't dodging potholes on I-70, but remembering a simpler time (for me), many years ago, far away - where summer nights were occupied with watching "Submarine Races" at Stehli Beach on the Long Island Sound. Amazing that we didn't need the internet or cell phones or video games or i-pods. A cold can of Schaefer & holding hands with "what's-her-name" and it couldn't possibly get any better. All that from a dumb old record. Thanks Ronn.

Dr. Phil's Phoney Diet Pills

I never cared much for Dr. Phil McGraw. Here's a shrink on TV with what claim to fame? Yes, he was taken under Oprah's wing, but what else? I always thought he was a phoney. Of course, I've been wrong before. After all, I don't have a successful syndicated talk show, but, then again, Oprah, doesn't know me.
Back to the Diet Plan endorsed by Dr. Phil. The company he endorsed recently lost a $10,500,000 class action law suit. The action was initally taken by some unhappy dieters. Dr. Phill doesn't lose a penny. Dieters paid $120 a month and took 22 pills a day to lose weight. This doesn't make much sense to me, but I've never been fat. Back to Dr. Phil. When I see a picture of him, I think of a snake oil salesman. Apparently a judge agrees.

Willie Busted With Wacky Tabacky

Yes friends, the more things change, the more things stay the same. News from Louisiana is that 73 year old Willie Nelson and some of his band members were busted, today, for possession of marijuana. This happened during a rountine commercial traffic stop. Authorities say they smelled that smell. Those involved cooperated fully with authorities. They could face 6 months in jail but will probably be fined and put on probation. This will make it to the network news, probably as a balance to all the seriously bad and depressing news. Willie, I raise my can of Old Milwaukee to ya!

Making War Over Words

I can't think of anything that anyone could say that would make me want to riot or to wage war. Not over words! Could this be the case of us hearing what we want to hear? I try not to be too political in this blog, but...
If you want to prove that what you thought the Pope was saying is wrong, prove it with your actions.

Thong Makes Wright Wrong?

Gallatin is a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee. A movie production company contacts Mayor Don Wright to see if they can use his office to shoot 3 scenes for an upcoming movie. Now, life in small town America is a little different that it is in the big city. Mayor Don says, "OK," thinking that the publicity would be good for Gallatin.
The movie is: "Thong Girl 3, Revenge of the Dark Widow." I should mention that there is no nudity and that Thong Girl is an adaptation from the "Thong Girl" comic book series, aptly portrayed by Leah Adcock in her little red "Thong Girl" outfit, complete with red cape. I tried to get a better picture but the Thong Girl website has exceeded its bandwith! This is a problem that this blog will never face!

The Skinny On Models

It's always been a mystery to me why the fashion industry insists on using skinny models. When I say skinny, I mean beyond slender. Like the girl in the picture. The thought of eating at Mc Donalds scares the hell out of her! Maybe the skin and bones look appeals to gay fashion designers?
So you may be wondering if you are skinny or fat. To know whether you are fat or skinny, you must know your BMI. BMI is "Body Mass Index" Your's should be between 21 and 26. Spain recently banned models with a BMI below 18. Here's how you get your number: Weigh yourself in pounds. Divide your weight by your height in inches squared. Take that number and multiply by 703. If the answer is below 21, eat something. If your BMI is above 26, relax! You have lots of company.

Debbie Does.........

I saw some of the Dateline interview, last night, with Debra Lafave. She's the 25 year old former Florida middle school teacher who got caught having sex with a 14 year old student in her classroom among other places. Two points here, she's, er, attractive. OK, she's hot & NO PRISON TIME! She had sex with a boy! According to her, he wanted it. It sounds like she wanted it too. Maybe we should look at the formula, here. She says that she was depressed, took medication and drank....a lot. Mix that together with a hot woman who apparently didn't want to grow up and you get some unfortunate decisions. This may be a brief, over analysis of an oversexed bimbo, but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
My advice to Debra..."older guys" (like 22 yrs old...), they have more cash, same equipment.

Did Peyton Beat Eli?

Well, yes, the Colts beat the Giants, Sunday night, 26-21. Did Peyton beat his little brother Eli? Eli threw for 2 TDs, Peyton for one. The Giants had easy opportunities to intercept 4 passes. They nabbed one.
In the game I was watching, the Giants offense made stupid mistakes and the Giant field goal kicker missed a routine attempt. True, Eli fumbled a hand off to Barber. (High School football is fun to watch.) In last night's game, the Giants were beaten by the Giants.
The next time you see an NFL game, think of the theory that "Defense wins games. Offense sells tickets. The game's hype surrounded Manning vs. Manning. The outcome went in favor of the team that made the fewer mistakes.
If the Colts want to make it to the superbowl, they can't expect the opposition to make giant mistakes.

Half-A-Buck

I have driven in Manhattan. where unsafe lane changes are common. This is one reason why I never liked driving in Manhattan. But, if I were to make an unsafe lane change, in Manhattan, I don't think I'd be doing it in a silver Lamborghini. If I felt the need to draw attention to myself I'd buy a Lamborghini....oh and if I could afford one ...yeah. Rapper 50 cents AKA Curtis Jackson was cited, today, for making an unsafe lane change, driving with an expired permit, driving without insurance and driving without a vehicle registration. Why do I mention this? If you read this blog with any regularity you'll know that I have a theory that when young people (and us old farts too, sometimes) come into large sums of money, quickly, they get dumb, really dumb. (By the way, if you don't read this blog with any regularity, I suggest adding bran to your diet.) Backing up my point is Party Girl Paris Hilton. And don't get me started with Mel Gibson, Britney Spears, Tommy Cruise, Pammy Anderson, etc., etc. Money doesn't buy brains, or class or common sense. It's sad to see that people who are dumber than you and I, also have a ton more money than we do.

Got Gas?

The price of gas today, 9/8/06, is cheaper than it was on this day, one year ago. You can see all you want to know (and more) at www.gasbuddy.com.

Why are gas prices lower??

There may be many reasons for the recent drop in gas prices. During the past 3 years there seems to be a trend toward lower gasoline retail prices in North America during the final quarter of the year. This coincides with what? Christmas? Thanksgiving? Halloween? Election Day! This, of course is just my opinion, but all levels of government seem to work (or should I say function)best immediately prior to a general or primary election. This is why, with very few exceptions, I don't like to see anybody re-elected. I don't think that our founding fathers wanted politics to be a career. But then again, Thomas Jefferson never bought a gallon of gas in his life!