Friday, Oct. 7, 2011 | 4:27 p.m.
A Las Vegas priest pleaded guilty today to three counts of mail fraud for stealing $650,000 from a church over an eight-year period.
Roman Catholic priest Kevin McAuliffe, 58, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan on Jan. 6, 2012, and could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count, according to Daniel G. Bogden, U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada.
McAuliffe, a priest and pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, admitted to stealing from the church from 2002 to 2010, officials said.
The U.S. attorney's office said McAuliffe pocketed money from the church’s general bank account, the gift shop and elsewhere. McAuliffe also used church funds to reimburse personal expenses made on his credit card, officials said.
McAuliffe also submitted false information to the Las Vegas Diocese that underrepresented the church’s income in financial reports, according to court records.
As a member of the Las Vegas Diocese’s financial committee from 2006 to 2010, McAuliffe signed letters mailed with yearly financial statements to the Archdiocese in San Francisco in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
The Las Vegas Diocese assisted and cooperated in the investigation.
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