Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Priest faces drug, theft charges
Cops: Rev. Gregory Parlante stole from collection basket
CONCORD » The former pastor at St. Cornelius Church has been charged with possession of methamphetamines, as well as stealing about $5,500 from the Sunday collections to pay for drugs he received through the mail, according to authorities and court documents.
The Rev. Msgr. Gregory Parlante, 61, whose address is listed as Downingtown on the criminal docket, was preliminarily arraigned Thursday morning on three criminal offenses: Possession of a controlled substance
and use or possession of drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors; and theft by unlawful taking, a third-degree felony. He was released on $100,000 unsecured bail.
Eric D. Strand, Parlante’s defense attorney, declined to comment on Friday.
Parlante’s arrest comes seven months after Pennsylvania State Police executed a search warrant involving a mailed delivery of suspected illegal drugs, later identified as methamphetamines, at the sprawling church campus in Chadds Ford. It was during the course of the investigation of the suspicious package that authorities learned Parlante “had been removing funds” from the church’s Sunday collection, according to the probable cause affidavit, written by Trooper John Hanosek.
According to the probable cause affidavit, church maintenance staff was cleaning out Parlante’s office on the morning of May 26, 2017, after the pastor had been removed from employment at the parish for medical reasons. When they opened the top drawer of Parlante’s computer desk, they found a U.S. Postal package addressed to the priest.
Staffers opened the package and found “a clear plastic bag containing crystals,” later determined to be methamphetamine, the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, a church volunteer interviewed as part of the investigation, said she saw Parlante remove about $500 in cash from each Sunday collection, from January of 2017 until his leave of absence in March of 2017. Parlante reportedly told the volunteer that he needed the money “for payment to substitute priests and altar boys,” the affidavit states.
“The defendant removed approximately $5,500 in cash from the St. Cornelius Sunday Collection in the year of 2017,” the affidavit states.
Another volunteer who assisted Parlante with various errands told investigators he was aware that Parlante had a personal bank account with the Iron Workers Bank. The employee said Parlante would ask him to make cash deposits in his account.
“The employee indicated the estimated amounts of the deposits … ranged from $1,000 to $5,000 at a time,” the affidavit states.
Parlante was paid biweekly from the church, and the money was directly deposited into his account at PNC Bank, the affidavit states. Parlante’s salary was estimated at $27,215 in 2016.
Through the investigation, authorities determined Parlante was purchasing methamphetamines through the mail, and he was stealing money from the Sunday collections and having it deposited in a personal bank account to purchase drugs via Paypal and other forms of electronic transactions, the affidavit states.
On Friday, Philadelphia Archdiocese spokesman Ken Gavin emailed the following statement:
“In the early spring of 2017, Rev. Monsignor Gregory J. Parlante went on a leave of absence from his assignment as pastor of Saint Cornelius Parish in Chadds Ford. In May of 2017, and after his departure, parish staff opened a package that was addressed to the parish with Monsignor Parlante’s name on it. It was believed to contain illegal drugs. The matter was reported to law enforcement and a search warrant was executed. Both the parish and the Archdiocese have been cooperating fully with law enforcement during the course of their investigation over the past several months. That criminal investigation has concluded.”
Gavin said school families and parishioners would be updated on Parlante’s status.
A preliminary hearing is listed for Feb. 8 before Magisterial District Judge Wendy B. Roberts.