(Chicago, IL) Far North Side priest gets 4 years for theft

By Karoun Demirjian | Tribune staff reporter
11:24 AM CDT, July 20, 2007

A Roman Catholic priest accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his Far North Side parish accepted a plea deal today that is sending him to prison for 4 years.

At a time when St. Margaret Mary parish was struggling to keep the doors of its schools open, Rev. Mark Sorvillo was raiding the weekly collection basket so greedily that the 2005 Christmas collection was bare, prosecutors had said.

Sorvillo, a Catholic priest for 28 years, also raided donations from baptisms and weddings, stealing more than $190,000 during the course of his nearly eight years as pastor of the North Side parish, according to the charges against him. Using secret money market accounts and credit cards issued to the parish, Sorvillo financed trips to Europe, purchased pricey meals and bought tickets to Notre Dame football games and to the Lyric Opera.

He also wrote more than $30,000 worth of checks to himself to finance his lavish lifestyle, which included a summer cottage and trips to Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Marshall Field's, prosecutors said.

More:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-070720sorvillojul20,0,6601863.story?coll=chi-entertainment-front

...say now, plus the $30,000.00 for expensive shopping sprees, he sounds more like Benny Hinn and other evangelicals then a humble catholic priest!

n/t