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	Priest Pleads Guilty to Theft By Susan Spencer-Wendel Palm Beach Post January 21, 2009 http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/local_news/epaper/2009/01/21/0121delraypriest.html WEST PALM BEACH — In a watershed moment for a scandal that broke in 2006, the Rev. John Skehan on Wednesday pleaded guilty to grand theft over $100,000. At a special 8 a.m. appearance, the 81-year-old priest faced Circuit Judge Jeffrey Colbath before the shackled prisoners were brought in. Offering few words and at times struggling to hear the judge, Skehan, for decades a priest at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach, acknowledged stealing from the parish between 2001 and early 2006. Free on bond, he then sprinted down a courthouse hallway, dodging TV cameras and reporters. Assistant State Attorney Preston Mighdoll did not specify in court the precise amount of money Skehan acknowledged stealing, saying only that it was more than $100,000. Skehan's sentencing is scheduled for March 20. He faces a minimum of 21 months in prison under state guidelines, but judges can depart from those. Skehan's defense attorney, Scott Richardson, asked for enough time at sentencing so that witnesses can speak on Skehan's behalf. "By virtue of the plea, he accepted responsibility," Richardson said. "He was a priest for more than 50 years. We want the court to know all the good he did in this community and for others around the world." Skehan was set for trial Wednesday morning along with the Rev. Francis Guinan, who replaced Skehan at the parish and also faces a charge of grand theft over $100,000. Mighdoll, though, asked for extra time to review an accountant's report recently produced by Guinan's defense attorney. Trial for Guinan, 66, is now set for Feb. 18. The Rev. Charles Notabartolo, vicar general of the Diocese of Palm Beach, entered the courtroom with Mighdoll. Notabartolo, in Roman collar, greeted Skehan, saying he wished he were seeing him under better circumstances. Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney's office, said he would leave it to the defense to specify the precise amount of money Skehan acknowledged stealing. Richardson declined to do so or say whether Skehan had paid any restitution. Edmondson also declined to specify what penalty prosecutors will ask for at sentencing. Delray Beach police arrested Skehan and Guinan in 2006. Detectives accused Skehan and, to a lesser extent, Guinan of misappropriating more than $8 million over decades, although they were charged with actually stealing far less. Detective Thomas Whatley referred to them at the time as "professional money launderers" with hidden "slush fund" accounts. Church workers told police of skimming off offertory plates and lavish spending. Circuit Judge Sandra McSorley, who previously presided over the case, rejected a plea deal last year that would have put Skehan on probation and allowed him to return to Ireland. Guinan and his attorney, Richard Barlow, also were in court Wednesday. Barlow said Guinan is eager for a trial to clear his name. His defense appears to be grounded in the Catholic church's accounting practices at the time - or lack thereof. The church, Barlow said, does not want the case to go to trial. "There's not a lot of accounting oversight for millions of dollars," he has said. "It may be difficult for the state to show any money is missing or who took it." Barlow said the recent defense accounting report found an additional $134,000 deposited in church accounts that the prosecutors' accountant did not find. Barlow said jurors may be surprised to hear of the considerable income a priest could accrue after years of no living expenses. Skehan is not expected to testify at Guinan's trial, Barlow said. In a statement published after news of the financial scandal broke, Bishop Gerald Barbarito said he had cooperated in the investigation and had implemented mandatory audits for parishes every two years, rather than only when there was a change in priests. Part of potential evidence in the case is a letter Guinan wrote to Barbarito in 2003, resisting an impending audit of St. Vincent's, asking the bishop to "call off the dogs."
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