An Italian Roman Catholic priest has been placed under house arrest for allegedly stealing over $117,000 in church funds and parishioners’ donations for drugs and lavish gay sex parties in his home.
The Rev. Francesco Spagnesi, 40, of Prato, Italy, who was locally known for his inspiring homilies, was caught after police were tipped off that his roommate had imported a liter of the common date rape drug GHB from the Netherlands, according to the Times.
Police are in the process of interviewing 200 people who’ve said they have attended his parties in the last two years. The two men are alleged to have used online dating sites to invite guests to their home, where drugs were used and sold, the Times reported.
Officers reportedly found homemade crack pipes from bottles during a raid on the apartment.
Spagnesi is a former medical student who dropped out to join the priesthood at the age of 26, reportedly saying he found a “fullness and a joy in making myself available to others,” according to the Times.
Spagnesi had withdrawn over $117,000 from the parish’s bank account, which police suspect was used to purchase drugs, the paper reported.
A priest, Don Francesco Spagnesi, 40, involved in a police investigation into parties based on cocaine and Gbl, the so-called ‘rape drug’, has been arrested for drug dealing in Prato, in Tuscany, northern Italy.
Police reportedly plan to interview hundreds of people who attended the priest’s parties.
When the bishop halted access to the priest’s funds, he began stealing money from the Mass collections and asking parishioners for money, telling them he was raising aid for poor families.
The priest, beloved in the community, quickly raised thousands of dollars from the unsuspecting churchgoers. They have since begun to take legal action against Spagnesi, demanding their money back, according to the Times.
Spagnesi’s lawyer, Costanza Malerba, told the Times the priest had confessed to supplying drugs to others at parties and is expected to admit stealing church funds.
No charges have been filed at this time.
