OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former chancellor for the Roman Catholic Church's Archdiocese of Omaha is under criminal investigation after being accused of stealing a total of $275,000 from a former priest accused of sexual abuse and from a Springfield parish.
The Omaha World-Herald reports that the Rev. Michael Gutgsell is accused of stealing $179,000 from the saving of the late Rev. Theodore Richling Jr. and $96,000 from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Springfield.
The archdiocese announced the 72-year-old Gutgsell's resignation last month, saying a routine audit had uncovered the theft.
Deacon Tim McNeill, the current chancellor of the archdiocese, says Gutgsell wrote unauthorized loans to himself during his time at St. Joseph.