A former Massachusetts priest is facing multiple charges in connection with the theft of more than $100,000 in church funds which he used to buy power tools, a riding mower, food, wine, car accessories, video games and clothing.
Tomasz J. Gorney, 43, of Amherst, is charged with larceny over $1,200 and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown, according to the Northwestern District Attorney's Office. He is accused of stealing the funds from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Granby, where he served as a priest, over a period of three years.
Prosecutors say Gorney used the parish funds to purchase numerous items for his own personal use. He charged the expenses to credit cards that the Diocese of Springfield ultimately had to pay.
Hundreds of items were recovered by Granby police from a storage unit in Easthampton in April. Detectives had launched an investigation after they were notified by the diocese, which had been conducting its own internal audit into suspicious use of church funds.
