Insiders steal big from unsuspecting churches: Churches urged to report embezzlement
When their priest, Brian Lisowski, was caught with an alleged prostitute last summer, parishioners at St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Church began to suspect their pastor had been keeping secrets from them. They were right—he had a million of them.
About the time the priest resigned in July 2004, the Archdiocese of Chicago said it discovered Lisowski had systematically skimmed more than $1 million from the parish in his five years as pastor. The theft was discovered when collections went up dramatically after Lisowski left.