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A Catholic priest found guilty of embezzling $295,000 to fuel his gambling habit will spend 60 days in prison. He had been facing 15 years behind bars.
Father John Regan, 47, was a pastor at St. Walter Parish in Illinois between the years 1989 and 2008. While there he created a “Special Needs” account that went towards funding his addiction.
Father Regan had made some 400 ATM withdrawals that the bank eventually traced to a riverboat casino.
“I’m a compulsive gambler, and what I did was absolutely wrong…I wasted a huge sum of my parish’s money on this gambling addiction…Every day was a good day to go to the casino, and that’s the insidious nature of the disease I have. I can’t imagine anybody wanting to do what I’ve done,” explained a tearful Regan.
Later commenting on the case, Assistant State’s Attorney Helen Kapas said:
“That a person could do this to their own church is unthinkable, unimaginable and unbelievable. There will be different judgment days for John Regan, but today is a day for justice in DuPage County.”
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
