Priest Spared in $300,000, Theft, Not Deacon

Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass noted the stark inequity in the case of a Joliet, Ill., diocesan Catholic priest who was sentenced to 60 days in jail for stealing some $300,000 from his parish, while a Joliet diocesan deacon who stole about the same amount from his church, was given six years in prison.

Both men wept and admitted their guilt, but Rev. John Regan, who claimed he was addicted to gambling at his sentencing Aug. 16, was spared because the judge said he didn't know what a heavier sentence would accomplish. Deacon George Valdez,
who has wife and family, used some of the money for his daughter's wedding, but he felt the full brunt of the law last February. Both cases were handled in DuPage County court.