Posted on: June 11, 2026, 11:23h.
Last updated on: June 11, 2026, 11:23h.
- A Catholic priest is accused of stealing money from the church to gamble
- Prosecutors allege at least $160,000 was moved from the diocese to the priest’s personal banking accounts
A catholic priest in Kansas is thought to have stolen $160,000 during a four-year span, with some of the money allegedly supporting his gambling habit.
Father Richard Storey has been on house arrest with GPS monitoring since May when prosecutors in Johnson County charged the priest with a fifth-degree felony. The non-violent charge is for theft of property valued at more than $100,000.
According to newly disclosed court documents, Storey is accused of transferring approximately $160,000 from a banking account controlled by the Cure of Ars Catholic Church to an account he held personally.
An affidavit from the Leawood Police Department reported that financial investigators followed the money trail to determine that Storey was using the funds for unauthorized charges, including cruises, international and domestic vacations, luxury goods, and a dental procedure that church officials said qualified as a personal expense. The affidavit details that Storey used the church credit card aboard one of his cruises to gamble. The credit card statement listed “casino cash withdrawal” for a $24,000 transaction.
Most cruises offer on-board casino gambling once the vessels reach international waters.
House of Sin
Storey has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A separate investigation remains ongoing related to another $590,000 in questionable church spending between 2021 and 2025.
Along with billing the cruises to the church, prosecutors allege Storey traveled to London, Paris, Dublin, and New York on the congregation’s dime. The trips had no documentation of church-related activities.
The charges allege Storey spent $5,900 at Jos. A. Bank and Nordstrom Rack, as well as at specialty stores. The church’s credit card was used at least 21 times to cover payments of over $25,000 on Storey’s personal Citibank credit card.
This news is deeply painful for all of us in the Catholic community, particularly given the nature of the allegations involving resources entrusted to the Church through the sacrifice and generosity of the faithful. These allegations are serious, the legal processes must be allowed to proceed, and Father Storey is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law or internal canonical process,” said Archbishop Shawn McKnight.
McKnight asked for “patience, charity, and respect” to one another as the church “moves through this together.”
What’s the Catholic Church Say About Gambling?
Unlike some religions, Catholicism does not expressly prohibit a member of the church from gambling, with bingo nights common in many Catholic churches. Gambling becomes sinful when a person loses money needed to take care of their home, loved ones, or give to the church.
“Gambling becomes sinful only when one pays too much money for the entertainment. A person in a casino spending thousands of dollars that his family needs is committing a sin, and the Church is very firm about this (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2413),” explains Catholic.com, an online website dedicated to clearing misconceptions of the Catholic Church.
“It would likewise be sinful for a person to spend thousands of dollars his family needed on other forms of entertainment, too, like limited edition books, movies, collector’s items, or whatever,” the resource added.
