FLORIDA
Palm Beach Post

By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

WEST PALM BEACH —

A priest who in June left his job at St. Clare Catholic Church in North Palm Beach, pledging to prove he was innocent of shoplifting, this week was placed on probation for 18 months and ordered to pay $895 restitution to Neiman Marcus for the picture frame he stole from its Boca Raton store in December.

Rev. Giuseppe Savaia, 43, refused to confess but agreed that a guilty plea was in his best interest, said prosecutor Kirk Volker.

Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Richard Oftedal withheld adjudication before placing Savaia on probation, ordering him to take a theft abatement course and to get psychological treatment.

He also barred Savaia from entering a Neiman Marcus store.