When a priest who preached sacrifice is accused of funding cruises and casino cash with collection-plate money, trust does not just crack—it shatters.
Story Snapshot
- A Kansas priest is accused of diverting about $160,000 in parish funds for cruises, casino cash, travel, and personal bills.
- A church audit flagged more than $159,000 in suspected unauthorized spending between 2021 and 2025, leading to a felony theft charge.
- The priest has pleaded not guilty, and the case now tests both the courts and the church’s promise of accountability.
- The allegations expose how weak parish financial controls can invite abuse—and why laypeople must demand sunlight.
How a trusted pastor ended up in a felony theft case
Father Richard Storey spent years as the pastor at Curé of Ars Catholic Church in Leawood, Kansas, preaching faith, sacrifice, and stewardship to a comfortable suburban flock.[5]
According to charging documents, that same priest now stands accused of stealing more than $100,000 in church money between 2021 and 2025, with investigators and church officials publicly pegging the suspected loss closer to $160,000.[1][2]
Police arrested him on a felony theft charge, and he later turned himself in and appeared in court.[3]
Former Leawood priest allegedly stole $160K from church for cruises, casino and clothes https://t.co/bZT0gq4dlQ
— The Kansas City Star (@KCStar) June 16, 2026
A press release from the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas confirmed that Storey was taken into custody on suspicion of theft of about $160,000 in parish funds and later charged with theft of property or services worth more than $100,000.[1][5]
He resigned as pastor in September 2025 after Prairie Village police opened a separate criminal investigation involving another adult, and the archbishop suspended him from public ministry while civil and church investigations proceed.[5][6]
What the affidavit says about cruises, casinos, and cash
A court affidavit, summarized in local reporting, lays out a spending trail that does not look like ordinary parish business.[2] An internal audit of Curé of Ars finances from 2021 through 2025 found unauthorized transactions on a parish credit card account and on a second, redacted source, totaling $159,326.92 in suspected improper spending.[2]
The document says church funds covered one or more cruises costing $77,025, including a July 2023 trip where the card showed a $23,904 “casino cash withdraw.”[2][3]
Investigators say another large withdrawal, almost $25,948 in early 2025, was also linked to a cruise.[2] The affidavit also describes retail purchases, international travel, and personal expenses that auditors could not tie to parish needs because supporting receipts or memos were missing.[2]
It states that some church money went to a dental procedure costing $4,439 that should have been paid personally, not by parish funds.[2] For many churchgoing families, those numbers read like a luxury itinerary built on their tithes.
Donations, “fake” generosity, and the trust problem
The affidavit goes further, saying Storey used the parish credit card to make multiple “donations” totaling $22,663 to parish fundraising efforts.[2] Another $10,526 in unauthorized donations allegedly came from other church funds and inflated the reported giving totals.[2]
If those facts hold up in court, it suggests something more twisted than simple greed. Using stolen funds to pose as a top donor would let a priest polish his image as a generous shepherd while quietly draining the flock.
Father Richard Storey, former pastor at Curé of Ars Catholic Church in Leawood, Kansas.
He allegedly stole $159,326.92 in church funds (2021–2025) for cruises, trips to London/Paris/Dublin/NY, casino cash withdrawals, shopping, and personal expenses. He resigned in Sept 2025 and…
— Grok (@grok) June 21, 2026
For those who value ordered liberty and personal responsibility, this is the core offense. People gave money, in good faith, to support worship, schools, and charity.
A priest is accused of turning that sacrifice into cruise points and casino cash while backfilling the optics of generosity with church money. That behavior, if proven, mocks both Christian teaching and basic fiduciary duty. It is the kind of hypocrisy that drives ordinary believers out the door.
Presumed innocent, but the system is not
Defenders of due process will point out, correctly, that these are allegations, not proven facts. Storey has pleaded not guilty to the felony theft charge and is out on bond with conditions such as wearing a monitoring device, surrendering his passport, and avoiding contact with witnesses.[2][3]
The archdiocese itself reminds the public that he is presumed innocent unless convicted in a court or through a church process.[1][5] That presumption is not a technicality; it is a bedrock of American justice.
Yet even before any verdict, the parish’s internal controls already stand convicted by the facts. A national Catholic finance guide warns that embezzlement hits parishes “at an alarming frequency” when one person holds too much spending power and documentation is weak.[12]
It urges best practices like multiple check signers, receipts for every payment, electronic giving, and random audits.[12][13] The Curé of Ars audit only happened after years of suspect charges had already posted, which tells you how weak the guardrails were.
What this means for ordinary churchgoers and taxpayers
When hundreds of thousands of dollars go missing, parishioners are not the only losers. Curé of Ars plans to file an insurance claim to recover the money.[5]
Insurance payouts do not fall from the sky; they come from premiums that every other parish pays, which often trace back to the donations of working families in the pews. Some dioceses facing repeated scandals have closed schools or cut ministries when legal and financial costs stacked up.[17]
Scholars who study church finances stress that most priests never steal from their parishes, but the minority who do often exploit exactly the kind of gaps seen here—too much trust, not enough verification, and little lay oversight.[15][16]
The answer is not to abandon the Church or charity, but to demand transparency that treats church money like what it is: hard-earned income from families who expect it to fund faith, not fund a secret VIP cruise tier.
Sunlight, regular audits, and empowered lay finance councils protect both the faithful and the many honest priests who share their outrage.
Sources:
[1] Web – He portrayed himself as holier-than-thou but priest allegedly stole …
[2] Web – Former Leawood, Kansas, priest arrested Saturday for theft of funds
[3] Web – Affidavit details alleged embezzlement by Leawood priest
[5] Web – Court documents say Father Richard Storey used more than …
[6] Web – Former priest at Curé of Ars Catholic Church accused of stealing …
[12] Web – Catholic Church sex abuse cases in the United States – Wikipedia
[13] Web – How to stop embezzlement in your parish – U.S. Catholic
[15] Web – Catholic church faces financial consequences for abuse coverups
[16] Web – When some priests steal, it’s often not due to financial pressure, say …
[17] Web – Internal Financial Controls in the U.S. Catholic Church – Academia.edu
