Priest gets 37-month term in church thefts
Mercy was not in the cards for a priest who stole and gambled away hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Las Vegas Catholic church.
Hoping for a term of probation and treatment for a gambling addiction, Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe will instead serve three years and a month in a federal prison and three years under supervision once he is released.
McAuliffe, 59, also was ordered Friday to stay out of casinos and to receive counseling for his addiction once freed.
The stint is four months longer than federal prosecutors asked for and far longer than McAuliffe and his attorney had hoped for — along with the hopes of scores of his faithful parishioners who packed into the courtroom, some arriving more than two hours before the hearing began.
Many cried afterward. Parishioners lined up in the courthouse lobby to wish McAuliffe well. He spoke softly to each of them, as they exchanged hugs.
PRIEST EXPRESSES REMORSE, SHAME
McAuliffe, who spent most of the hearing staring downward, told U.S. District Judge James Mahan he was sorry for stealing about $650,000 over eight years.
As the pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Catholic Church and vicar general of the Las Vegas Diocese, which put him second-in-command to Bishop Joseph Pepe, McAuliffe had complete control over the finances of the Summerlin church.
"I have the deepest remorse and regret," McAuliffe said just before Mahan sentenced him. He said he betrayed and scandalized the Catholic Church and his congregation.
"I will pay restitution to the best of my ability," he said. According to court documents, McAuliffe has paid more than $13,000 since May, when the FBI confronted him after a three-year investigation.
"The church is my family," McAuliffe said. "I know this personal failure will stay with me for the rest of my life."
He said that he has been filled with "guilt, shame and self-loathing" over the thefts and that he would stay in treatment and "do what I can to help others with this affliction."
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Brown questioned whether McAuliffe is afflicted with a pathological gambling addiction or is simply a thief.
"The government is saying he is making it up," said Margaret Stanish, McAuliffe’s attorney.
"You’re a master of understatement," said Mahan, bringing a brief moment of levity to an otherwise solemn hearing.
NO WAY TO PROVE ADDICTION
Both lawyers questioned Dr. Timothy Fong, an associate professor of psychiatry at UCLA, who has worked with gambling addicts for about 12 years.
Fong is one of two doctors who determined McAuliffe is a pathological gambler. He testified as an expert witness for the defense.
Criminal behavior is common in pathological gamblers, he said. "It’s the only diagnosis I know of where a symptom is criminal offenses."
While Fong said an addiction to gambling is "a disease that’s no different than diabetes or cancer," he admitted there is not a reliable medical test to conclude a person is afflicted.
"There’s no blood test, no DNA test to definitively diagnose," said Fong, who also said the brains of compulsive gamblers are damaged.
The naked eye can’t see the damage, he said, but neurological imaging can show such brains are different than "normal" brains.
The lack of proof appeared to influence Mahan’s decision.
"I was hoping to see an objective test for gambling addiction," the judge said. "A brain scan or something. It’s all subjective."
Mahan also noted McAuliffe eventually accepted responsibility for the thefts, although he initially denied wrongdoing. "To use a gambling analogy, you hedged your bets," the judge said.
But more than a reluctance to readily admit wrongdoing, Mahan focused on McAuliffe’s leadership role. "You were in a position of trust," said the judge in rejecting the low-end recommendation from federal prosecutors.
PUNISHMENT OR TREATMENT
The government sought a prison term of 33 months for McAuliffe, but the priest objected, citing his gambling addiction and prior good works as reasons for probation or a shorter stint behind bars.
Brown told Mahan that the priest had complete control of the church’s financial resources and that for more than eight years he gambled at local casinos in amounts far in excess of his employment income of about $70,000 a year.
An employee from an unidentified casino alerted the FBI, according to a source close to the case.
Brown also said about $50,000 of the stolen money was not spent on gambling but on other expenses related to travel.
The prosecutor said McAuliffe could have sought help at any point during the eight years in which he stole roughly $6,700 a month, on average.
But Stanish argued that McAuliffe should be treated and not incarcerated. She noted Nevada courts have recognized gambling addiction as a disease and have created treatment programs to help such people.
She said state courts are "leaps and bounds" ahead of federal courts in how addicts are treated, and she criticized the federal system’s formula. "This court is addicted to sentencing guidelines," she said.
"The man has given his life to good works," Stanish said. "We have to distinguish him from other defendants. He would not be here but for his gambling addiction."
After the hearing Stanish said she was deeply disappointed with Mahan’s decision to reject McAuliffe’s gambling problem.
"But I have the utmost respect for Judge Mahan," the attorney said. "Monsignor McAuliffe will accept his punishment and continue to confront his addiction. I have no doubt he’ll be a better man when this is done."
A CHURCH DIVIDED
Stanish noted many parishioners have forgiven their priest.
McAuliffe was instrumental in helping the Summerlin church expand to more than 8,800 families and oversaw a massive renovation and the construction of a K-8 school on church grounds, she noted.
But parishioners said the church is split over McAuliffe’s betrayal. Some recognize McAuliffe committed a serious offense but deserves mercy. Others want to see him punished.
"We have a very strong church here," parishioner Robert Murphy said. "I don’t believe the judge was right. He (McAuliffe) built our chapel and our school and a memorial for fallen soldiers."
Murphy broke down in tears, saying, "He is a good human being who did something wrong. He admitted it. We can’t forget he’s a human being."
Several parishioners said they would welcome McAuliffe returning to the St. Elizabeth’s one day, but they admit not all congregants feel the same way.
"The church is splintered," said Zoe Ann Murphy, Robert Murphy’s wife. "A good portion of us support him even though we don’t condone what he has done. Other people believe in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."
From Robert Murphy’s perspective, the split is between longtime members and those who have recently joined St. Elizabeth.
"We were here when we worshipped in tents," he said. "The people who have been here the longest are the most loyal. The newer ones don’t understand what he’s accomplished. The man did so much good, but he’s sick and needs help. He’s not a criminal."
While Mahan acknowledged scores of parishioners sent letters to him, not all of them were supportive of the priest.
Mahan cited the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant from the Bible’s Book of Matthew, in which Jesus tells an apostle to forgive his brother not seven times, but seven times 77 times. "I expect the church to forgive him," Mahan said.
Prosecutor Brown said other parishioners and church employees advocated for a prison term but were harassed into silence by those loyal to McAuliffe. She made it clear she didn’t think the priest was behind the harassment.
The diocese did not take a public stand on McAuliffe’s sentencing. Bishop Pepe in a statement thanked parishioners for "continuing their good works and service" under very trying circumstances. He said parishioners have had their faith tested.
"However, I have been heartened by the parish’s resilience and the presence of the faith-filled spirit of the community which I have personally witnessed at St. Elizabeth’s since this matter became public."
"We will survive," parishioner Sylvia Carrillo said. "We are a strong church."
LOMPOC IS NO LONGER CLUB FED
McAuliffe must report to prison by noon April 13. Stanish requested he serve his sentence at the Lompoc Federal Correctional Complex, which has separate facilities for low- and medium-security inmates.
The prison used to be called "Club Fed," where doctors, bankers and developers who ran afoul of the law played tennis and lived in leisure. But about 22 years ago, the prison was renovated to accommodate violent offenders.
McAuliffe has no prior criminal record and probably will be housed with inmates who have similar backgrounds.
The prison is adjacent to Vandenberg Air Force Base, about 175 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Noteworthy Lompoc alumni include H.R. Haldeman, President Richard Nixon’s chief of staff, who served 18 months for conspiracy and obstruction of justice in the Watergate scandal.
While McAuliffe remains a priest, the Catholic Church has its own judicial system. Being a priest is a calling that requires a lifetime commitment, and the church will decide McAuliffe’s future.
In a statement Pepe said: "The Diocese of Las Vegas has not made any official determination with respect to a change in Monsignor McAuliffe’s status out of a desire to respect the outcome of the criminal proceedings. Now that these proceedings have been completed, the diocese will take time to review the decision and any conditions imposed in its determination of next steps."
Contact Doug McMurdo at dmcmurdo@reviewjournal. com or 702-224-5512.
