Police find $63K stashed above ceiling in priest's basement

Ken Palmer | Lansing State Journal

WILLIAMSTON, Mich. — Police said they found more than $63,000 in cash during a second search of the home of a Catholic priest charged with embezzling more than $5 million from an Okemos parish.

The money was found above ceiling tiles in the basement of the Rev. Jonathan Wehrle's lavish home, Michigan State Police said Wednesday in a news release.

Investigators obtained a search warrant based on information gathered by Lansing police who were working with MSP's Special Investigation Section, according to the news release.

The search was conducted Tuesday and turned up $63,392, most of it in $2,000 bundles of $20-bills marked as being from St. Martha Parish and School, police said. Other evidence related to the investigation also was seized, although police did not specify what that evidence includes.

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Wehrle and two other people were in the house when the search was conducted, they said.

Investigators believe the money was embezzled from the parish, where Wehrle was pastor, according to the release. In all, more than $1.1 million in assets has been seized in connection with the investigation, police said.

Wehrle is awaiting trial on six felony counts of embezzlement of $100,000 or more. His trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 13 in Ingham County Circuit Court.

During a preliminary examination last year, prosecutors said Wehrle used parish funds to pay for work and materials at his more than 11,000-square-foot mansion near Williamston. A court-appointed receiver now maintains the property and pays relevant insurance and utility bills, according to court records.

An insurance carrier for the Catholic Diocese of Lansing has filed a civil lawsuit against Wehrle after paying out nearly $3 million in damages.

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Wehrle has been trying to raise $300,000 for his legal defense and is "in dire need of help," according to a letter circulated on his behalf by Opus Bono, a Lapeer County-based charity that raises money to help priests.

"For Father Wehrle, this is quite literally an apocalyptic moment," the letter said. "The prosecutor has frozen all of his assets ... he is unable to pay his legal team for a competent defense ... "

Attorney Lawrence Nolan, who has been representing Wehrle in the criminal case, declined to comment on the information released by police on Wednesday. Nolan said he "will be withdrawing" as Wehrle's attorney in the case. He declined to elaborate.

It was not clear if Wehrle has lined up another attorney or whether the change of attorneys will push back his trial date.

The Ingham County Prosecutor's Office may seek forfeiture of the money seized Tuesday, according to the state police news release.

Follow Ken Palmer on Twitter: @KBPalm_lsj.