Mystery Over Minister Who Stole Money from Pedophile Priest, Gave it to Vagrant for Gambling

A homage in Nebraska has been rassling with the interrogation of why a Catholic minister would slip parish money, rob an indisposed paedophile priest, and apply it to all a homeless person piece to bump in casinos.

The Rev. Michael Gutgsell is the former Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Omaha. He has admitted embezzling around $100,000 o'er eighter from Decatur years from St. Joseph parish in Springfield. And he took $180,000 from a retired non-Christian priest under his care, Rev. Norman Mattoon Thomas Richling, who suffered from dementia.

In 2020, the archdiocese announced an investigating into Richling had “led to the substantiation of multiple instances of sexual misconduct with minors.”

Gutgsell, 73, transferred all the money to Michael Barrett, a man living on the streets of Omaha. He added $250,000 of his own money to this, exhausting his personal accounts, life-time savings, insurance, and his retirement account statement in the process.

$1M Gambled

Barrett gambled off $700,000, all donated by his benefactor, Gutsgell. It’s not elucidate from court of law documents, viewed by Casino.org, where the remaining $170,000 came from.

If you include some of Barrett’s winnings, then he lost a tally of $1 1000000 at casinos inward Council Bluffs, Iowa, the courtyard heard last-place week.

Prosecutors suggested Gutsgell was beingness extorted past Barrett, an assertion the cleric denies. He says it was charity.

Meanwhile, Gutsgell’s demurrer lawyers argued their client was the victim of a conman.

But prosecutors asked wherefore Gutsgell would slip to help simply single homeless person person when he could have got directed the money into a stateless charity to facilitate many more.

“It appeared to us that it was an extortion case,” atomic number 82 investigator on the example Bill Mulligan testified Wednesday, as reported by Norfolk Daily News.

We asked him legion(p) times if in that location was any other reason out he gave this piece $700,000. Gutgsell stated no, in that respect was no more intellect he did other than him existence a stateless person. He said it wasn’t extortion.”

Another Priest Extorted

Gutgsell has admitted siphoning the money from Richling by written material checks to himself or filling out cash-withdrawal slips piece he was force of attorney for the retired priest, who was in a breast feeding place at the time.

Richling died inwards 2019, ripened 90, and Gutgsell was assigned to manage the disposal of his estate.

According to Norfolk Daily News, Barrett has been accused of extorting another priest, Rev. James River Dawson, of $185.

Barrett visited Dawson at another nursing rest home inwards capital of Nebraska before the latter’s last inwards 2020. Gutsgell allegedly swarm Barrett to this meeting.

Barrett’s whereabouts is unknown, according to judicature filings.

Douglas County Judge Marcena Jimi Hendrix ordered Gutgsell to live tried inwards a federal court on two felony charges, theft and vilification of a vulnerable adult.