A former Catholic priest has been arrested and accused of stealing $740,000 from his church, its affiliates and parishioners – and even his own mother.
Gregory Allen Madeya, 69, was arrested in Vero Beach, Florida, on August 14 and has since been extradited back to Pennsylvania, where, according to The Latrobe Bulletin, he served as priest of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Derry Township until he was suspended in February 2024.
Following a three-year investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, led by Chief Deputy AG Patrick Schulte, Madeya has now been charged with a string of financial offenses.
He faces one first-degree felony for dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities, six second-degree felonies and one third-degree felony for theft, a second-degree felony for financial exploitation of an older adult and a third-degree felony for fraud.
Investigators allege Madeya withdrew over $75,000 from his church’s general and savings accounts between 2021 and 2022.
They further allege he stole from two other churches in nearby McKeesport and Jeannette – which are also part of the St. Josaphat Eparchy, overseeing local Ukrainian Catholic churches – and from the Knights of Columbus fraternal organization.
In one instance, Madeya allegedly sold one of the churches’ gold chalices to a local jeweler for $19,440 and pocketed the money, according toTribLive.
Perhaps most shockingly, he is accused of stealing “nearly $250,000 from his mother, who was of the age when she could not manage her own finances” and over whom he had power of attorney, the AG’s office said.
In total, investigators concluded Madeya had taken $740,409.96 from his various victims since 2018, reporting finding church collection envelopes in his trash and photos of debit cards and bank documents on his personal devices.
Madeya is alleged to have used the money to pay for illegal drugs to exchange for sexual acts with a man he lived with in West Mifflin, as well as on vacations overseas and cruise ship tours and a $35,500 2018 Ford Mustang he gifted to the same man, TribLive reports.
“It is unconscionable to see a supposed man of God exploiting not only the churches he served, but his own mother,” Pennsylvania AG Dave Sunday said in a statement.
“This defendant abused the trust of those around him, and left them to recover from mammoth financial losses.”
Robert G Del Greco Jr, an attorney for Madeya’s former church, told Fox News Digital: “It has been a profound loss to the parishes. They continue to worship as they rebuild their finances in hopes that there will be some measure of insurance compensation.
“Remedial measures include that every parish must submit a quarterly financial statement including the bank statement and copies of the checks for inspection and review. These are reviewed by the finance officer as well as designated lay parishioners with expertise in financial matters.”
Patrick Thomassey, his defense attorney, has declined to comment on the charges against his client but has said he does not believe Madeya represents a flight risk and has argued there are no clear guidelines in place on how a priest should or should not use collection money donated by churchgoers.
After waiving a preliminary hearing, Madeya’s bail has been set at $25,000 by Magisterial District Court Judge Joseph R DeMarchis.
He will next appear in Westmoreland County Courthouse on October 14 for a formal arraignment.
