Pennsylvania priest Rev. Joseph McLoone was arrested on felony theft and related charges Wednesday.
What We Know:
- McLoone is accused of stealing nearly $100,000 in church donations to pay men he met on Grindr, his credit card debt, and his travels.
- The Chester County District Attorney’s Office reported that he opened a secret checking account in 2011 to deposit donations from parishioners at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. He then put the donation checks into an unauthorized “St. Joseph Activity Account” at TD Bank for the next six years stealing a total of $98,405.
- Chester County district attorney chief of staff Charles Gaza stated, “Father McLoone held a position of leadership and his parishioners trusted him to properly handle their generous donations to the church…Father McLoone violated the trust of the members of St. Joseph’s for his own personal gain.”
- He withdrew about $46,000 from Ocean City, New Jersey, where he owns his own beach house and revealed as well that he withdrew money to pay for his “personal relationships” with men. According to a criminal complaint, this includes $1,200 McLoone deposited into the commissary account of an inmate in a New York correctional facility.
- McLoone told investigators that the inmate, Brian Miller, lived in New York City and they met through the gay dating app Grindr. In total, he separately made 17 payments totaling $1,720 to men he met on Grindr. He is also accused of using $3,000 of the stolen funds to pay off personal credit cards.
- McLoone’s attorney stated, “What he did with his own personal money is his business…It may be between him and the archdiocese, but it’s not between him and law enforcement.”
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia launched an investigation of McLoone in early 2018 resulting in administrative leave but he eventually resigned as pastor of the parish.
