Delray Beach Priest pleads guilty to theft - runs down the hall

Rev. John Skehan pleaded guilty and ran down the hall Wednesday morning in court. The Rev. Francis Guinan appeared in court briefly on Wednesday as state prosecutors tried to remove witnesses from the grand theft case against the former pastor at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach.

Palm Beach Circuit Judge Sandra McSorley denied the state's request to strike 20 witnesses submitted by defense attorneys on Dec. 16.

Guinan and another former pastor, the Rev. John Skehan, are accused of stealing money from the church they once led. The scandal rocked the church when charges were filed against the two men in 2006. An audit by the Diocese of Palm Beach showed the men took as much as $8.6 million over 20 years.

The state's case will focus on thefts between 2001 and 2006 because of a five-year statute of limitations. Guinan, 66, is accused of stealing $488,000 in 19 months after he became pastor in September 2003. Skehan, 81, is accused of taking $370,000 during the five years in question.

Their trial is set to start on Jan. 21. The case has dragged over the past two years, notably in February when state prosecutors dropped criminal charges only to refile them five months later. Both sides were not ready to go to trial at the time.

"This case is old," McSorley said. "It should have gone to trial already, in my view."

McSorley told defense attorney Richard Barlow to send prosecutors summaries of what his newly added witnesses will testify to during the trial. A key witness, Barlow said, will be accountant Martin Cass, who will testify there is no evidence of theft.