Vegas Priest Jailed Over $650,000 Theft; Bunny Ranch Endorses Paul; Vegas a Tipsy City
Priest gets 37-month term in church thefts
by Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Catch all the Vegas news at www.lvrj.com
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Mercy was not in the cards for a priest who stole and gambled away hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Las Vegas Catholic church.
Hoping for a term of probation and treatment for a gambling addiction, Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe will instead serve three years and a month in a federal prison and three years under supervision once he is released.
McAuliffe, 59, also was ordered Friday to stay out of casinos and to receive counseling for his addiction once freed.
The stint is four months longer than federal prosecutors asked for and far longer than McAuliffe and his attorney had hoped for — along with the hopes of scores of his faithful parishioners who packed into the courtroom, some arriving more than two hours before the hearing began.
Many cried afterward. Parishioners lined up in the courthouse lobby to wish McAuliffe well. He spoke softly to each of them, as they exchanged hugs.
PRIEST EXPRESSES REMORSE, SHAME
McAuliffe, who spent most of the hearing staring downward, told U.S. District Judge James Mahan he was sorry for stealing about $650,000 over eight years.
As the pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s Catholic Church and vicar general of the Las Vegas Diocese, which put him second-in-command to Bishop Joseph Pepe, McAuliffe had complete control over the finances of the Summerlin church.
“I have the deepest remorse and regret,” McAuliffe said just before Mahan sentenced him. He said he betrayed and scandalized the Catholic Church and his congregation.
“I will pay restitution to the best of my ability,” he said. According to court documents, McAuliffe has paid more than $13,000 since May, when the FBI confronted him after a three-year investigation.
“The church is my family,” McAuliffe said. “I know this personal failure will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
He said that he has been filled with “guilt, shame and self-loathing” over the thefts and that he would stay in treatment and “do what I can to help others with this affliction.”
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Brown questioned whether McAuliffe is afflicted with a pathological gambling addiction or is simply a thief.
“The government is saying he is making it up,” said Margaret Stanish, McAuliffe’s attorney.
“You’re a master of understatement,” said Mahan, bringing a brief moment of levity to an otherwise solemn hearing.
NO WAY TO PROVE ADDICTION
Both lawyers questioned Dr. Timothy Fong, an associate professor of psychiatry at UCLA, who has worked with gambling addicts for about 12 years.
Fong is one of two doctors who determined McAuliffe is a pathological gambler. He testified as an expert witness for the defense.
Criminal behavior is common in pathological gamblers, he said. “It’s the only diagnosis I know of where a symptom is criminal offenses.”
While Fong said an addiction to gambling is “a disease that’s no different than diabetes or cancer,” he admitted there is not a reliable medical test to conclude a person is afflicted.
“There’s no blood test, no DNA test to definitively diagnose,” said Fong, who also said the brains of compulsive gamblers are damaged.
The naked eye can’t see the damage, he said, but neurological imaging can show such brains are different than “normal” brains.
The lack of proof appeared to influence Mahan’s decision.
“I was hoping to see an objective test for gambling addiction,” the judge said. “A brain scan or something. It’s all subjective.”
Mahan also noted McAuliffe eventually accepted responsibility for the thefts, although he initially denied wrongdoing. “To use a gambling analogy, you hedged your bets,” the judge said.
But more than a reluctance to readily admit wrongdoing, Mahan focused on McAuliffe’s leadership role. “You were in a position of trust,” said the judge in rejecting the low-end recommendation from federal prosecutors.
PUNISHMENT OR TREATMENT
The government sought a prison term of 33 months for McAuliffe, but the priest objected, citing his gambling addiction and prior good works as reasons for probation or a shorter stint behind bars.
Brown told Mahan that the priest had complete control of the church’s financial resources and that for more than eight years he gambled at local casinos in amounts far in excess of his employment income of about $70,000 a year.
An employee from an unidentified casino alerted the FBI, according to a source close to the case.
Brown also said about $50,000 of the stolen money was not spent on gambling but on other expenses related to travel.
The prosecutor said McAuliffe could have sought help at any point during the eight years in which he stole roughly $6,700 a month, on average.
But Stanish argued that McAuliffe should be treated and not incarcerated. She noted Nevada courts have recognized gambling addiction as a disease and have created treatment programs to help such people.
She said state courts are “leaps and bounds” ahead of federal courts in how addicts are treated, and she criticized the federal system’s formula. “This court is addicted to sentencing guidelines,” she said.
“The man has given his life to good works,” Stanish said. “We have to distinguish him from other defendants. He would not be here but for his gambling addiction.”
After the hearing Stanish said she was deeply disappointed with Mahan’s decision to reject McAuliffe’s gambling problem.
“But I have the utmost respect for Judge Mahan,” the attorney said. “Monsignor McAuliffe will accept his punishment and continue to confront his addiction. I have no doubt he’ll be a better man when this is done.”
A CHURCH DIVIDED
Stanish noted many parishioners have forgiven their priest.
McAuliffe was instrumental in helping the Summerlin church expand to more than 8,800 families and oversaw a massive renovation and the construction of a K-8 school on church grounds, she noted.
But parishioners said the church is split over McAuliffe’s betrayal. Some recognize McAuliffe committed a serious offense but deserves mercy. Others want to see him punished.
“We have a very strong church here,” parishioner Robert Murphy said. “I don’t believe the judge was right. He (McAuliffe) built our chapel and our school and a memorial for fallen soldiers.”
Murphy broke down in tears, saying, “He is a good human being who did something wrong. He admitted it. We can’t forget he’s a human being.”
Several parishioners said they would welcome McAuliffe returning to the St. Elizabeth’s one day, but they admit not all congregants feel the same way.
“The church is splintered,” said Zoe Ann Murphy, Robert Murphy’s wife. “A good portion of us support him even though we don’t condone what he has done. Other people believe in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
From Robert Murphy’s perspective, the split is between longtime members and those who have recently joined St. Elizabeth.
“We were here when we worshipped in tents,” he said. “The people who have been here the longest are the most loyal. The newer ones don’t understand what he’s accomplished. The man did so much good, but he’s sick and needs help. He’s not a criminal.”
While Mahan acknowledged scores of parishioners sent letters to him, not all of them were supportive of the priest.
Mahan cited the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant from the Bible’s Book of Matthew, in which Jesus tells an apostle to forgive his brother not seven times, but seven times 77 times. “I expect the church to forgive him,” Mahan said.
Prosecutor Brown said other parishioners and church employees advocated for a prison term but were harassed into silence by those loyal to McAuliffe. She made it clear she didn’t think the priest was behind the harassment.
The diocese did not take a public stand on McAuliffe’s sentencing. Bishop Pepe in a statement thanked parishioners for “continuing their good works and service” under very trying circumstances. He said parishioners have had their faith tested.
“However, I have been heartened by the parish’s resilience and the presence of the faith-filled spirit of the community which I have personally witnessed at St. Elizabeth’s since this matter became public.”
“We will survive,” parishioner Sylvia Carrillo said. “We are a strong church.”
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Nevada Brothel Endorses Ron Paul
PARHUMP (KSNV MyNews3) — The ladies of the infamous Moonlite Bunny Ranch in Pahrump are getting political.
The workers in the brothel are endorsing Ron Paul in the race for president. The ladies are not only giving him the thumbs-up, but are also asking customers for donations to his campaign.
They say they’re impressed that he’s for state’s rights, and that he’s a doctor.
“He knows what women want and women’s needs are,” said Ara Rose, a worker at the Bunny Ranch. “And when it comes to a man that’s going to be in the office, you want a man that knows his way around a woman.”
The Ranch says its support will carry a lot of weight, with more than 125 million hits on its web site every month.
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Las Vegas Ranks Near Top in Drunken Cities
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) — A new report ranks Las Vegas among the drunkest cities in America.
The study, published by The Daily Beast, analyzed data on the average number of alcoholic drinks per month per resident gathered in a poll of people in 200 cities. It also analyzed the percentage of people who are heavy drinkers or binge drinkers to come up with the final rank.
Las Vegas ranked #14 on the list, with an average of 14.6 drinks consumed per person over 21 each month.
5.1 percent of Las Vegas residents are heavy drinkers, and 17.5 percent of residents are binge drinkers, according to the report.
Reno, Nev. comes in higher at #4 on the list.
The study ranks Boston as the drunkest city in America.
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Las Vegas Hilton Loses Its Name
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino officially changed its name to drop its hotel chain moniker on Tuesday after a license agreement expired at the start of 2012.
Workers changed the hotel marquee to reflect the new name for the property east of the Las Vegas Strip: The Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.
Its new motto: “Same Fame. New Name.”
It’s the second time Elvis Presley’s former haunt has changed its name. Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian opened the property in 1969 as the International Hotel, then sold it to the Hilton chain. It became the Las Vegas Hilton in 1971.
The hotel-casino sought to end the agreement last year as the property contended with financial troubles. It defaulted on a $252 million loan in 2010 and used operational expenses to make payments during three months last year while it tried to restructure debt.
Casino name changes are uncommon, though not unprecedented in Sin City, said Michael Green, a College of Southern Nevada history professor who specializes in Sin City’s history.
“Generally, the icons of the past, the name isn’t changed — it’s blown up,” Green said Tuesday.
“Name changes like that are not too common, especially because most hotel-casinos do develop some cachet with their customers.”
Other casinos that have changed their names include the Aladdin becoming Planet Hollywood, and the MGM Grand becoming Bally’s, Green said. It’s more common for casinos to make small adjustments to their names rather than wholesale changes, he added.
Green said the hotel-casino, in addition to Presley performing more than 800 sold-out shows, was distinctive in Las Vegas history for its location off the Strip, and a youth hostel that served as a precursor to other family-friendly resorts in the adult destination.
The change means the property won’t be connected with Hilton’s hotel loyalty program, though hotel officials say it’ll keep its player rewards program and amenities. It is owned by investors including Colony Capital LLC.
