The Kansas City Star
May 09, 2018 02:49 PM
A Catholic priest in Johnson County has been charged with stealing more than $40,000 from a Gardner parish while he served as pastor.
Father Joseph Cramer was booked into the Johnson County Jail Tuesday night and was released after posting a $5,000 bond.
Cramer, 68, is charged in Johnson County District Court with felony theft and two counts of felony computer crime.
The money was allegedly stolen from Divine Mercy Parish in Gardner where Cramer served as pastor.
The thefts allegedly occurred between November 2015 and May 2016, according to court documents.
Officials with the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said they learned of possible “financial irregularities” last September and passed information along to the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office.
Cramer was placed on administrative leave and has since resigned as pastor, the archdiocese said in a written statement.
“This has been a very painful process for all involved,” Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann said in the statement. “I ask for continued prayers for Father Cramer, and the parishioners of Divine Mercy, especially, at this difficult time.”
Available court documents do not say how the alleged crimes occurred or how the money was spent.
But as a condition of his bond, Cramer was ordered to stay away from any casino.
Court records don’t show a lawyer for Cramer, who is scheduled to make his initial court appearance May 17.
Priest suspended from Divine Mercy Parish in Gardner now charged with theft and computer crime
FOX 4 fox4kc.com (Kansas City, Missouri)
Posted 1:37 pm, May 9, 2018 Updated at 01:36PM, May 9, 2018
GARDNER, Kan. — A 68-year-old Gardner priest is charged with stealing thousands of dollars from the parish he was supposed to be serving.
Joseph P. Cramer
Joseph Patrick Cramer was suspended in September 2017, after the KCK Archdiocese received information about what they called “financial irregularities” at Divine Mercy Parish, where Cramer served as pastor.
The Archdiocese at the time did not say if any money was missing, but that the church wasn’t following proper internal controls.
Now Cramer is charged with two counts of computer crime, and one count of theft in the amount of between $25,000 and $100,000.
Cramer is scheduled to appear in court on May 17. Authorities ordered that Cramer have no use of illegal drugs or controlled substances, and must submit to testing when directed by the court. He is instructed to have no alcohol and no contact with victim(s)/witnesses, their residence or employment whether or not he posts bond. And Cramer may not go on the premises of any casino, court documents say.
Another gambler? Sounds like it, does it not? Why else stipulate that he is not to go on the premises of any casino.
The order also apparently stipulates no illegal drugs or controlled substances, and no alcohol.
I wonder what the two counts of computer crime are all about?