Priest Accused Of Stealing Thousands From Church

02/09/2011

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www.wfmz.com

READING, Pa. -- A former priest is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Reading church. Berks County detectives say his money trail is 7 years long, and parishioners at Saint Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church had no idea.

When a parish priest leaves a church, the diocese of Allentown says it's routine to do an audit. One of those audits was done after Richard Nachajski left St. Anthony's in 2009. And detectives say that's when it was discovered that more than $470,000 were gone.

Richard Nachajski was beloved by his parishioners at Saint Anthony of Padua.

"He came home from a trip and the next day he married my daughter," said Jane Urban, "And he said I had to make sure I got back here in time for it," said Jane Urban, a parishioner of Saint Anthony of Padua church in the Millmont section of Reading.

Jane Urban says Father Rich was close to her family. And she knew about his trips. Berks County detectives learned about those trips, too. They say they have pages of documentation that detail journeys to Mexico, Florida, St. Marteen and even Thailand.

"He said he had friends that were travel agents," said Urban.

But the district attorney said the money came from somewhere else. "I think one of the most outrageous parts of this investigation was taking the funds from parishioners that died," said John Adams, the Berks County district attorney.

He said, two parishioners left their estates totalling $317,000 to the church, not to its pastor. Adams said the money was put into accounts only Nachajski had access to.

"I'm certain many people of this church are troubled by the fact these funds were used for his own entertainment and not for church purposes," said Adams.

"He was a fantastic priest. It's hard to believe this is coming out," said Urban, "I still don't understand it."

Officials say Nachajski married a woman shortly after he left the church in 2009, and documents say she was one of the people he travelled with.

Jane Urban said the accusations are overwhelming, but she won't let them affect how she feels about her church of 30 plus years. "The priest represents the church, but the faith is in your heart."

Nachajski was in court Wednesday, the DA says Nachajski's next day in court is February 25th.