On Friday, a Roman Catholic priest from Las Vegas surrendered at a federal prison in Texas in order to serve a sentence for siphoning $650,000 from his parish in northwest Las Vegas. He stole the money in order to help fund his video poker and gambling habits. Edmond Ross, the spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons, said that Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe turned himself in at the La Tuna correctional institution in Anthony, Texas.
McAuliffe was sentenced back in January to three years and one month in prison to go along with three years of supervised release. He must also pay $650,000 in restitution to the church after he pled guilty in October to three federal mail fraud charges. In 2008, 2009 and 2010, McAuliffe falsified documents that were sent to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in San Francisco. He admitted to these crimes. McAuliffe siphoned increases in money over a span of eight years from prayer and gift shop funds and votive candles at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.
McAuliffe was able to hide his crimes because he was a signatory for financial statements that were sent to the Las Vegas diocese and the San Francisco archdiocese. The lawyer for McAuliffe, Margaret Stanish, said that the priest began repaying restitution over a span of eight months and has already paid back $13,420. McAuliffe was in complete control of the church’s finances and activities from 2002 to 2010. The parish is home to 8,000 families from the upscale town of Summerlin. It is one of the largest Roman Catholic parishes in the state of Nevada.