On Wednesday, a Roman Catholic priest was placed on five years' probation and ordered to repay around $240,000 that he had stolen from his former workplace to fuel a gambling addiction. Rev. Stephen M. Gemme, 45, the former pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Northboro, stole the money from the church and its school over a five-year span.
Rev. Gemme, who requently visited casinos in Connecticut an[...] Read more » Priest Stole $240,000 For Gambling
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 45 (F)
Posts: 2261
It just shows that gambling problems can happen to anyone.....even those who have Jesus looking out for them,I'm surprised it lasted for 5 years and he managed to steal 240k before he was caught. I'm sure he was forgiven.
Joined: Jan '12
Location: Portugal
Age: 32 (M)
Posts: 405
Worst of that is that he stole that amount of money, to play in casinos, but for her the gambling has been so bad that he cannot be a wiinner to put some on the church and help him self and the catedral to get a good view for the patients of the church. But like the klash23 said, happens to every one, rich, poor, good, bad, higher, lower, every one.
Joined: Mar '09
Location: Portugal
Age: 57 (M)
Posts: 1703
Man this priest was a little bit crazy and had a big gambling problem But some intelligence he had to hide the theft for so long without anyone noticing is bad behavior No one is safe from addiction even those from the church Well that tells us one thing everyone can be and is sinner
Joined: Sep '13
Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 1564
so he got away with $240k and .... lost his job plus they sent him to therapist for his gambling addiction... and thats it?
if me or pochui were to steal $48 we'd get like 8 years in prison. Love the way this world functions, dam i really wish i was a priest now, they can get away with anything really.
wait its never too late is it? there it is, thx BRM you have helped me find my ... way?
Joined: Mar '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 55 (M)
Posts: 7371
I think that he has got off very lightly after stealing such a huge amount of money. Just goes to prove that even men of the cloth can be led astray by gambling and people have to be careful that it doesnt take over their lives
Joined: Oct '14
Location: Germany
Age: 41 (M)
Posts: 429
That is a very funny story, but I would like to defend the priests doings here, because I am convinced, that he only stole the money to double or triple up by gambling and then wanted to give it to a charity organization.
Joined: Sep '13
Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 1564
Posted by leno1: That is a very funny story, but I would like to defend the priests doings here, because I am convinced, that he only stole the money to double or triple up by gambling and then wanted to give it to a charity organization.
Joined: Feb '14
Location: Tunisia
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 2135
So he won't even live one day in prison that is just Bullsh1t justice should be equal for everyone if you are priest or politician or rich you must pay for your faults as everybody else
Joined: Feb '11
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 59 (M)
Posts: 5712
So.... In the greater scheme of things, he knocked a load of money to fuel a gambling addiction, or at the very least to gamble. There are one or two other things that are far worse and for which there has been lesser punishment meted out to similar people.
Joined: May '13
Location: Mauritius
Age: 32 (M)
Posts: 2688
Common priest why are you stealing donations from people will who is intended for the church, bad move from you and you get to be punished for that , hopefully you will be forgiven as God will forgive you but that is not an excuse and you will have to make amends for the rest of your life.
Anyway looking at that story i can see that gambling addiction is a problem everywhere if a priest is having an addiction, what about the other stuffs and we people who has a common life.
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Portugal
Age: 44 (M)
Posts: 4827
He was already being followed by a therapist, i believe he would keep going to the church almost everyday, and still he kept doing it. Not joking now, people who go to church often and practice their religion tend to speak a lot with themselves, so i believe this man already had realized the bad he was doing and knew he was wrong, but somehow he just had to keep doing it, like if it was stronger than him. It can happen to anyone, it's called addiction. Don't fall on this mobsters!
“Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been 16425 days since my last confession. These are my sins...” Where else than New Jersey? I can see some gambling debt is truly the 'end of the world' scenario for many reverends in that state, but why can they buy up this many credit cards with a priest's pay is a question I would ask first from the banks and credit unions which bankrolled his addiction first.
I just red yesterday that the diocese in Cologne has so much momney they cannot do anything with it - of course they have to pay salary and the expenses for all the institutions they've got, but maybe if this priest asks kindly they will help him out... Maybe. What would Jesus do?
