Rev. John Regan described himself as
an “action gambler” who frequented suburban riverboat casinos for
fast-paced games of blackjack and craps — often at tables where the
minimum bet was $25.
But the Catholic priest was betting
heavily with money he stole from the Roselle church where he was pastor,
sneaking out of the rectory to gamble in the middle of the night so he
wouldn’t be seen by parishioners.
Regan was sentenced Tuesday to 60 days
in jail for looting nearly $300,000 from St. Walter Parish by funneling
church offerings and contributions from parishioners into a secret bank
account he controlled.
“You went out in the darkness of night
with other people’s money to feed a thrill,” DuPage County Judge John
Kinsella said as he sentenced Regan. “It is an indescribable level of
betrayal you entered into.”
Kinsella also ordered Regan to pay
$295,000 in restitution, serve 150 days of work-release and perform 500
hours of community service work.
In addition, Regan was placed on four
years’ probation and ordered to abstain from gambling.
Regan faced up to 15 years in prison
after pleading guilty in June to felony theft for stealing the cash
between 2006 and 2008 while he led the west suburban parish.
He tearfully apologized for the thefts
before being sentenced but said he couldn’t control actions he knew were
wrong because of a gambling addiction.
“I’ve come to the realization that how I
could do it was because I have a gambling addiction,” Regan said,
pausing to wipe away tears. “My gambling addiction doesn’t know what
vocation I have. It just knows I’m a human being.”
Still, he acknowledged that his actions harmed his church and the parishioners he said he loved.
“I have hurt the parishioners deeply,” said Regan, 47. “What I did was reprehensible.”
Regan, who remains a priest though he is
not assigned to a parish, nonetheless asked Kinsella to place him only
on probation, saying he has “suffered mightily” as he struggled with his
addiction.
He has undergone eight months of in-patient treatment and
continues to go to therapy and 12-step meetings.
Kinsella curtly rejected Regan’s request to avoid a jail sentence.
“You’re going to leave this courtroom in
handcuffs. Such a sentence is warranted in this case — there’s no doubt
in my mind,” Kinsella said as he ordered Regan taken into custody to
immediately began serving his jail term.
After Regan completes his
60-day jail term, he will spend 150 nights in jail, but be freed to work
during the day.
Prosecutor Helen Kapas sought a 10-year
prison term for Regan, derisively describing him as the “riverboat
priest” who gambled at casinos in Elgin and Joliet with money looted
from his own parishioners.
“He likes games, action games,” Kapas
said of Regan. “This defendant has betrayed the trust and authority
placed in him by his church and by his parishioners.”
Kapas contended Regan stole as much as
$410,000 from the parish he served.
He steered $295,000 in church
contributions into a “special needs” account he created, Kapas said,
then withdrew that money at ATMs in several casinos or transferred it
into a personal bank account.
But she noted that Regan also deposited
$125,000 in his personal bank account during the two-year span when he
served as pastor at St. Walter, though he earned only $25,000 annually
as a priest.
Regan, however, testified that money came from casino winnings and other sources — not from stolen church funds.
He said he has wrestled with his
gambling addiction since 2002 when he worked at a Joliet church facility
near a riverboat casino there, saying he was an “action gambler” who
craved the thrill of betting.
Regan sat calmly as he was sentenced,
then shook hands with defense attorneys John Donahue and Jim Ryan before
being taken into custody.
“We think it’s a fair sentence. We think it’s a wise sentence,” Donahue said outside the courtroom.
A parishioner who testified against Regan said he was satisfied with the sentence.
“I can live with it,” said Brian Mraz, a church parishioner for more than 50 years. “Our parish needs to move on.”
Nearly two dozen other parishioners and
friends who support Regan also attended the sentencing, though none
would comment afterward.
Earlier, one parishioner said she has forgiven Regan because his addiction left him unable to control his actions.
“It’s an addiction, it’s a sickness,” said parishioner Jan Maglio. “In my heart, I felt he was a very good man.”