Catholic World News News Feature

Priest-Imposter Arrested At Massachusetts Abbey November 21, 1997

HINGHAM, Massachusetts (CWN) - The FBI arrested an Arizona man who had posed as priest and stolen more than $1 million from churches nationwide at a Benedictine abbey in Massachusetts on Thursday.

Michael Dongarra, 51, had stayed at the small Glastonbury Abbey since April when he joined the community of 11 monks. Dongarra had allegedly posed as an Anglican priest in the past, using his assumed position to steal more $1 million over 12 years through theft and fraud. He was arrested in Oro Valley, Arizona in April 1996, but fled before his trial, according to a police spokesman. He was tried in absentia on some of the charges and was found guilty. He will be held in Hingham pending extradition to Arizona.

Father Nicholas Morcone, abbot at Glastonbury, said Dongarra passed the normal screening process for men wanting to join their community and came with all the necessary recommendations. Dongarra was profiled on the Fox network television show "America's Most Wanted" last Sunday, and a Pennsylvania priest called the show to report Dongarra's whereabouts. Father Morcone said that unfortunately none of the monks watch "America's Most Wanted."