NORTHBOROUGH (MA)
Boston Globe
By Jeremy C. Fox | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT OCTOBER 14, 2013
A Northborough parish priest has resigned his post after allegedly embezzling more than $230,000 over four years, according to a letter posted on the parish website.
In the letter, Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus said Rev. Stephen M. Gemme, formerly pastor of St. Bernadette Parish, spent more than $120,000 in parish funds and more than $110,000 from the parish school “for personal expenditures unrelated to the parish or school.”
McManus said the Worcester district attorney had been notified of the alleged embezzlement.
McManus first learned that money was missing in July, when a member of the St. Bernadette School Advisory Board came to him with concerns about spending from an account in the school budget, he said.
The next day, McManus met with Gemme, who admitted he had a gambling problem, the bishop said. The bishop then revoked Gemme’s check-signing privileges, requested a review of parish finances, and arranged a medical leave of absence for Gemme to undergo residential treatment.
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