99-year-old man beaten over parking spot
Tuesday, Feb. 9 2010 @ 8:00AM
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We here at True Crime Report don't want our readers thinking that all men of God are creepy sex fiends who use their status as authority figures to prey on the weak. That is not our intention at all. But we must admit that sexual deviants do take up a huge chunk of this list each week. However, not all priest and preacher types are out to get laid pervert-style. We swear. Apparently, some are only out to get your money.
Take John Shane Vaughn, for example. The 37-year-old southern Louisiana preacher is currently in custody not for sexually assaulting a 2-year-old, but merely stealing its identity.
Earlier this month, Vaughn was slapped with a $100,000 fine among a slew of other criminal charges. Aside from spreading the word of God, Vaughn had also spent years working as an insurance agent -- a real renaissance man for sure.
But it turns out that Vaughn wasn't exactly above board with regard to his day job. He recently stole the identity of a 2-year-old in order to defraud one insurance company and he is accused of swiping $20,000 from an annuity he sold to a person who doesn't even exist.
Police say that Vaughn has been doing this sort of stuff for years. Whenever he feared getting caught, he'd simply skip off to a new town and change his name and appearance. He has also been charged with bank fraud, issuing worthless checks, and felony theft.
But it appears his life of fraud is now at an end. He is now being held at the East Baton Rouge Prison on a $25,000 bond. Meanwhile, authorities in other parts of Louisiana, as well as in Tennessee, are hoping to press even more charges against Vaughn.
4. Robert Chukwu
By all appearances, Father Robert Chukwu was a much beloved priest.
Folks who'd been members at St. Mary's Catholic Church in La Crosse, Wisconsin for decades said that Father Chukwu had a been a blessing to their parish -- loved by children and senior citizens alike.
However, as the Nigerian-born priest filled the hearts of his congregants, he was also busy emptying their coffers.
Since at least 2007, Chukwu had been syphoning off funds from the local Dioceses and sending the money overseas to his native Nigeria. Authorities have since discovered over $105,000 in unauthorized debit charges and $91,000 in improper disbursements, bringing Chukwu's theft to over $200,000.
Chukwu used insurance money his church received after a 2007 flood to buy numerous goods that he'd then ship to Nigeria, where they were to be resold.
Among those items, he spent $6,000 to ship a 40-foot container filled with $100,000 worth of artificial flowers, candlesticks, pedestal tables and other merchandise, all to be hocked on the Nigerian market by his friends and family with hopes of turning a personal profit at the cost of his parish. He spent another $50,000 filing yet another container and also shipped over straight cash to be deposited into a personal bank account.
Last week, Chukwu was arrested before being released on a $25,000 bond.
The La Crosse Dioceses say they've been aware of Chukwu's theft for a while, but didn't press charges until recently because new information kept coming up. They also believe that aside from the Church's insurance money, Chukwu had also been stealing donations made to the Church by its members.
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3. "Father L" and "Wife A"
This next item is a bit of a tough call when it comes to what Jesus would or wouldn't do.
What we do know, however, is that Jesus would never have cheated on his husband with a priest. Still, when one wed lady did just that in Orange County, New York, she felt that her husband had no right to have her followed to the motel where she was having her priestly extramarital affair.
In fact, that woman (who is unnamed in her lawsuit) ended up suing her husband in court for snooping.
Apparently, "Woman A," as we'll call her, filed for a divorce from her husband in November 2008. Her husband had discovered the affair, but she claimed it was over and that she was leaving for other reasons.
Unconvinced, Woman A's husband decided to have her followed by a private detective. In August 2009, the private eye tailed her to a motel where she met "Father L," as he is referred to in the suit.
"Father L" wasn't just any old priest, either. He was the priest at the Church where Wife A, her husband, and her daughter attended mass AND where Wife A worked.
Upset over the ordeal, Wife A's husband then handed over the videotape to another priest at their church.
What happened to Father L is unclear. For all we know, he may still be handing out communion. But as for Wife A, well, she was forced to resign from her job at the church. Her husband also quickly filed a counterclaim in their divorce proceedings that she was having an affair, which means that Wife A is now totally screwed.
Pissed that she'd been caught red-handed, Wife A tried to file a suit against her husband for harassment. But, earlier this month, a judge didn't agree, claiming that Wife A's husband was within his rights to have her followed and collect evidence against her.
We're not sure if Jesus would agree or not. All we know is that in the moral world of rock, paper, scissors, sleeping with your parish priest far outweighs hiring a private detective to tail your cheating spouse.
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2. James Ray
Here at True Crime Report, we also realize that not all spiritual leaders who commit heinous crimes are of the Christian persuasion. There are, of course, hypocrites among all religious leaders -- those who forget what Mohammed, Moses, Buddha, or even Satan, would or wouldn't do. Folks just like James Ray, who may have swapped out Jesus for new age-y types of beliefs, but are still cashing in on the spiritual needs of the weak.
You've probably heard of Ray before. He's a famous self-help guru who has graced Oprah's couch, promising to help people "find wealth in all aspects of their lives," according to his website.
You may have also heard about the October tragedy associated with a five-day "Spiritual Warrior" retreat he was hosting in Sedona, Arizona, where three people died in a sweat lodge event. At first, the incident sounded like little more than accidental deaths attributable to the health conditions of the participants.
But, as of last week, that is no longer the case. In fact, Ray was recently charged with manslaughter in the case.
According to police interviews with the surviving sweat lodge participants, people began growing faint and started vomiting and collapsing halfway through the two-hour sweat lodge ceremony. Ray, who was leading the event, urged the ill folks to disregard their physical limitations, mocking those who wanted to leave, and even remarked that it would be a "good day to die," according to one participant.
Two people passed out in the lodge and died that night in the hospital. One more person slipped into a coma and died a week later, while 18 other people were also treated in the hospital.
Ray's lawyers are claiming no wrongdoing in the deaths, stating that it was simply a horrible accident. They are saying that the sweat lodge was done appropriately and all precautions were taken with regard to the health of the participants. They are also claiming that the allegations made by survivors against Ray are false and are being made in hopes of gaining a financial settlement out of Ray.
However, documents released during the investigation show that this isn't the first time people have sustained serious injuries during one of Ray's spiritual retreats, which cost $9,000 a head. In the past, participants have become unconscious and even suffered broken bones. And Ray largely ignored any of these medical problems, too.
Earlier this month, he was taken into custody and is now being held on a $5 million bond.
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1. Richard Abourjaily
In the top spot of this week's list, we bring you Father Richard Abourjaily -- a Catholic priest who has committed a crime so flat-out wrong, we're wondering if he's not just certifiably insane.
Last year, it came to the attention of the Dioceses of Sydney, Australia that Father Abourjaily was collecting donations from his congregants at the All Hallows parish in Sydney for a trip to Lourdes, France where he hoped to seek a "miracle cure" for his prostate cancer.
But, as it turned out, Father Abourjaily wasn't planning any special trip to Lourdes. Nor was he seeking a "miracle cure." In fact, Abourjaily didn't even have cancer. He was just lying about having cancer in order to reap the financial rewards of his follower's undeserved sympathy.
It wasn't the first time Abourjaily did such a thing, either. Only a few years eariler, Abourjaily was sent home early from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter Seminary in Lincoln, Nebraska for telling the same lies about his health.
The Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, immediately suspended Abourjaily from his duties at the church and dismissed him as "delusional."
However, that's where Abourjaily's punishment ends. No criminal charges were filed. Nor was Abourjaily defrocked. In fact, he was moved to a new parish in Perth, Austrailia. Apparently, his superiors felt he had repented and would not do the same thing again.
Even more ironic is the fact that, in 2007, on the eve of his ordination, Abourjaily was profiled by Catholic Weekly, claiming that "truth was a key determinant in his view of his calling and an expression of his faith -- his biggest commitment to his parishioners."
Can't get enough of What Wouldn't Jesus Do? See last week's installment about Johnny Ray Dempsey, a West Virginia Preacher Charged With Incest.
"We're taking-up a special offering today folks - I need money to pay for my future bail from jail".
Posted 02/14/2010 at 09:45:01 PM