Catholic leader Gregory Allen Madeya is accused of stealing huge sums from churches in Pennsylvania to pay for gay sex and lavish holidays
A priest is facing a lengthy court trial after being accused of swiping more than $740,000 (£700,000) from churches – and his own mum – to pay for gay sex and luxury vacations.
Prosecutors claim Catholic leader Gregory Allen Madeya nicked nearly $320,000 from three churches in Pennsylvania along with $250,000 from his elderly mom.
They believe the total from the combined alleged thefts from churches, parishioners, donors, and his family to be $740,409.96.
Prosecutors say they believe he used the cash to buy heroin to exchange for sex acts with a man he’d meet at a hotel. It’s alleged he also blew the funds on holidays including cruise ship tours and a $35,500 Ford Mustang.
He was suspended from the church in February 2024 but it is alleged he also stole from two other churches in the nearby towns of McKeesport and Jeannette, prosecutors said.
During one of the alleged thefts, Madeya is accused of snatching a $19,400 gold chalice. Investigators claim they found a collection envelopes in his trash and photos of debit cards and bank documents on his personal devices.
“It is unconscionable to see a supposed man of God exploiting not only the churches he served, but his own mother,” Pennsylvania prosecutor Dave Sunday said in a statement, noting that the elderly woman was “of the age when she could not manage her own finances.”
“This defendant abused the trust of those around him, and left them to recover from mammoth financial losses.”
He was arrested in Florida in August and was extradited back to Pennsylvania, and charged with theft, financial exploitation of an older adult and fraud.
Madeya’s bail was set at $25,000 and he is due back in court next month.