Probation officer gives office BJ to boot-camp teen
What Wouldn't Jesus Do?: Rev. Ross Kleman Charged With Killing One Teen, Maybe More
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 9:00 am
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But before we get to tales of murder and child pornography, let's begin with a much more inspiring tale.
You've probably never heard of Margot Kaessmann before. However, the 51-year-old has broken a number of incredible barriers. She is the first woman to head Germany's Lutheran Church. The mother of four is also the only Bishop in the country to be divorced. And as the head of the Protestant church, Kaessmann hasn't shied away from being vocal about her anti-war stance against Germany's involvement in Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, Kaessmann has also broken the law.
On February 20, Kaessmann was pulled over when she was caught driving her $120,000 VW Phaeton limousine drunk. Very drunk. She blew over three times the legal limit.
However, Kaessman isn't waiting to be ousted from her position as head of the Church. Last week, she stated that she deeply regretted her mistake and decided to step down from her seat, believing that she no longer had the credibility to make important decisions on behalf of her flock.
For whatever sins she might have committed, we're thinking Jesus would be pretty impressed with how she ultimately handled the situation.
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4. Thomas Croyle
Last week, we welcomed our first Episcopalian onto this here list. This week, we celebrate the inclusion of a Mennonite -- which is almost as awesome as being Amish, but without the buggies or sexy bonnets. Maybe if Thomas Croyle did have a bonnet-wearing wife to keep him in line, he wouldn't have done what he did.
A Mennonite Church pastor, Croyle was heavily involved with two different charities in the Johnstown, Pennsylvania area. Thanks to his involvement, at least one of those charities has had to close its doors.
He was treasurer of the Bridge of Hope, a charity that helped mentor single women with children, and was entrusted with a similar position at St. Francis Sharing and Caring, which ran a food pantry and gave donations to families in need.
Croyle had worked for Bridge of Hope since 2005, when the charity first opened. Everything seemed above board -- with Croyle submitting regular financial reports that appeared to be kosher. But when the board members realized that their bank account seemed desperately low in June 2008, they got suspicious and requested an outside audit of their books.
It turned out that Croyle had been robbing the organization blind. He'd been cashing checks as well as using the Bridge of Hope ATM card to make withdrawals. In all, he stole more than $60,000.
But Bridge of Hope wasn't his only victim. He'd been conducting a similar scheme over at St. Francis Sharing and Caring, as well. There, the 45-year-old diverted over $18,000 into a dummy account he opened in 2007.
$83,000 later, Croyle is now facing multiple charges of theft by deception, theft by unlawful taking, forgery, tampering with records, and receiving stolen property. He is currently out on bond, awaiting as his next court date.
As for Bridge of Hope -- the charity recently closed its doors due to a lack of funds.
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3. Samuel Martin
Samuel Martin's story isn't unlike that of Croyle's. However, being a 27-year-old Catholic priest, Martin's tale comes with a super pervy twist, of course.
By day, Martin offered his spiritual services to the villages of Totanes and Noez, near Toledo, Spain, where he'd been stationed for just over a year. But little did his parishioners know, he was also offering his sexual services by night.
Posing as a man named "Hector," Martin posted internet ads where he offered his services as a "heterosexual man for women and couples. Real photos. Well hung (15 cm) to give you pleasure and happiness," according to his ad, at almost $300 a pop.
"I am open to everything except sadism," he wrote in his ad. "Hotels and private addresses. 24 hours. You won't regret it, I will give you pleasure like never before."
As if Martin's gigolo gig wasn't bad enough, the priest was also stealing from the church's coffers to fund his insatiable appetite for sex chat lines, internet porn sites, and prostitutes. In all, Martin stole almost $30,000 -- some of which had been collected for the relief effort in Haiti.
The Archbishop of Toledo has since relieved Martin of his priestly duties, while he's asked the priest's former parishioners to forgive him because he's apparently "ill."
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2. Eric Spandorf
According to the Biblical Ministries of Tampa website, Eric Spandorf is an "associate pastor" and "youth crisis counselor" of a "biblical-based online ministry" who "turned to the church out of feeling despair and disappointment in life and is now a teen counselor."
According to his MySpace page, he's "depressed as fuk," "fucking drained," and...um...Jewish?
Whatever Spandorf might be online, one thing we do know is that he's a total pervert in real life, according to Tampa, Florida police records.
In January, police arrested Spandorf's 54-year-old roommate, Robert Primavera, after he tried to sell kiddie porn to an undercover cop.
After a two month investigation, police discovered that Spandorf was up to similar tricks. The two men had been downloading child porn from the internet and then selling it on the streets of Tampa.
On March 4, Spandorf was also arrested and now faces 66 charges for possessing and trying to sell child pornography. He's still in custody, awaiting his first hearing.
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1. Ross Kleman
In September 2008, 14-year-old Emily Stauffer took a hike along the walking trails that ran through her hometown of Edson, Alberta, when she was murdered in broad daylight.
As soon as her body was found, investigators began searching for her killer. The town of Edson was stunned. Who could be responsible for murdering the teenager daughter of a local pastor?
By December, Edson got its answer, thanks to the ex-wife of Ross Kleman. When Patricia Plante first got wind of the murder, she immediately knew who was to blame.
Plante says her ex-husband was obsessed with blondes -- just like Stauffer. And though he had a quiet, gentle side that he showed to most people in his work as a preacher, he also had an incredibly dark and violent side.
The two were introduced in 1995 through church friends. Some of Plante's relatives had taken in the drifter preacher, who began working at their local ministry. Plante and Kleman fell in love and were soon married. But Kleman quickly showed his dark side and began abusing Plante. They were separated in 2003.
A year before they were separated, Kleman found himself close to another murder case. He claimed he'd been out hiking along the same trails where Emily Stauffer's body was later found, only to find the body of Plante's aunt, Margaret Findlay. To this day, her death remains unsolved.
When Plante heard of Stauffer's murder, she called police and pointed them in the direction of
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42-year-old Kleman. After investigating her lead, Kleman was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in December 2008.
Kleman pleaded not guilty. On March 3, he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. His trial is set to begin in April. Police are also looking at Kleman as a possible suspect in Findlay's murder, too.
See last Tuesday's What Wouldn't Jesus Do?: Jason Bourque And Daniel McAllister Charged With Burning One Church, Suspected Of Nine More.
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