'People Who Know Me Know Who I Am': Downingtown Priest Accused Of Stealing From Own Church Comes Out Of Court Swinging
DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- A priest accused of stealing from his own Chester County church came out of court swinging on Wednesday. Father Joseph McLoone told CBS3 that he wants his day in court.
"People who know me know who I am and that's enough said," McLoone said. "I've cooperated fully with the process from the very beginning, with the Archdiocese and legally, and I look forward to the day when the truth will come out fully."
The former pastor of the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Downingtown is accused of diverting more than $100,000 in church donations to an alleged secret account -- one detectives claim only he controlled.
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Court records show among other things that McLoone deposited donations made by parishioners in memory of their deceased loved ones. It's claimed the account was opened for the sole purpose of concealing donations for what the church calls All Souls Day.
"One of the reasons to open the account was to use it as a vehicle to take the All Souls collection because he wasn't allowed to take it," Detective Ben Martin said.
The judge, who acknowledged he knew the former pastor and was a parishioner at his church, found there was sufficient evidence to send the case to trial.
McLoone allegedly used the money to pay bills and for his own personal gain. The Archdiocese feared some of the money was used to pay male prostitutes.
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Melissa McCafferty represents the monsignor and disputes the characterization Mcloone misappropriated church funds.
"The big picture remains to be see," McCafferty said. "I guess it's what a jury will say about the big picture, but they're not going to be able to prove these charges. As far as any inappropriate spending was concerned, they're not going to be able to prove it unless it was marked money."
