Bishop Paul Swain said in a statement Friday that former pastor David Desmond was indicted for inappropriate receipt and use of parish funds. After being notified of inattentiveness to pastoral responsibilities and repeated absences from the parish, Desmond resigned and was placed on leave on July 10, 2019.
Following his departure, a review of the financial records of the parish was conducted by the Finance Office of the diocese. The Initial review revealed irregularities. Eide Bailey staff performed a forensic accounting examination of parish financial records and discovered multiple examples of irregularities. This included questionable bank disbursements and Desmond’s use of altered or duplicated receipts when submitting for reimbursement. Over a five-year period, the examination identified $95,394.87 in questionable parish disbursements.
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