A beloved Catholic priest who died unexpectedly last year has been accused of stealing about $160,000 from the St. Joan of Arc parish in Streetsboro.
The money was discovered missing after the Rev. Pat Ferraro, 51, died Sept. 2 of a heart attack.
The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown alerted parishioners over the weekend about the missing funds, and Streetsboro police are investigating.
Police Chief Darin Powers said much of the investigative work already has been done by the diocese.
Police are now verifying the financial numbers and trying to determine if anyone else was involved.
Powers declined to say what happened to the money. The investigation is expected to last a couple of weeks.
The diocese said it received two complaints about “financial irregularities” at the parish in the fall and an initial investigation confirmed there was a problem.
An independent auditing firm was then hired to conduct a full audit of parish finances and discovered that Ferraro took about $160,000 over a period of four years for his personal use.
The diocese said it has instituted a new policy of rotating financial audits at all parishes and institutions, and is increasing the frequency of workshops to educate parish financial council members on their role in overseeing parish finances.
Ferraro was popular and well-respected in the Streetsboro community, and “served the parish in a remarkable way,” said Monsignor John Zuraw, the diocesan chancellor.
The parish was devastated when Ferraro passed away.
“They took that very hard and added to that grief is this revelation,” said Zuraw, who didn’t know what became of the money. “It’s two blows within a period of seven or eight months. It is very hard.”
St. Joan of Arc is the only Catholic parish in Streetsboro.
“[Ferraro] was very well known here in Streetsboro,” Powers said. “He had a very dedicated following in town and was very well loved for many, many years. This has hit our community pretty hard.”
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ .