A Roman Catholic priest who founded an alcohol and drug rehab center in Ohio has pleaded guilty to dividing $1 million into 139 deposits to avoid a requirement that deposits over $10,000 be reported to the federal government.The 68-year-old Rev. Samuel Ciccolini of Akron also pleaded guilty Friday in Cleveland federal court to avoiding $129,432 in taxes in 2003 by underreporting his income by $300,000.
He says the money was his and didn't involve embezzled funds from the church or the Interval Brotherhood Home which he founded in Akron.
Ciccolini says he hoarded the money over a 33-year period and panicked in 2003 over a new U.S. currency design.
He didn't elaborate about his concerns.
Judge James Gwin set sentencing for Oct. 8. Ciccolini is free on $25,000 bond until sentencing.
He faces a potential nine years in prison and a half-million dollar fine in addition to taxes, fines and penalties owed to the IRS.
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