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- Phony Priest Runs Up Supermarket Tab
Phony Priest Runs Up Supermarket Tab
- By Surfing the Current
- Published 03/24/2008
- Stranger Than Fiction
- Unrated
source: AP, December 11
When a man dressed in black and wearing crosses said to charge his groceries to St. Rocco’s Roman Catholic Church, clerks at a West Pittston, Pennsylvania, store obliged. St. Rocco’s has a tab at the Gerritys Supermarket.
Officer Joe Campbell says the man “played the part,” with his black clothing and a white strip of cardboard around his neck. But his grocery orders began to stray from the necessities. Energy drinks and cigarettes crept in, and store officials became suspicious. So police finally set it up where they were waiting when the man in the ecclesiastical getup checked out for the final time.
Officials say Brian Rush, 28, was charged with the attempted theft of nearly $98 worth of merchandise, and with five other recent thefts totaling $1,800. The Rev. Daniel Schwebs of St. Rocco’s said Rush wasn’t authorized to use St. Rocco’s charge, either. Campbell said Rush did attend a seminary in 2006, but quit after a month—obviously before those 10 pesky Old Testament rules were outlined.
Officer Joe Campbell says the man “played the part,” with his black clothing and a white strip of cardboard around his neck. But his grocery orders began to stray from the necessities. Energy drinks and cigarettes crept in, and store officials became suspicious. So police finally set it up where they were waiting when the man in the ecclesiastical getup checked out for the final time.
Officials say Brian Rush, 28, was charged with the attempted theft of nearly $98 worth of merchandise, and with five other recent thefts totaling $1,800. The Rev. Daniel Schwebs of St. Rocco’s said Rush wasn’t authorized to use St. Rocco’s charge, either. Campbell said Rush did attend a seminary in 2006, but quit after a month—obviously before those 10 pesky Old Testament rules were outlined.
