

As gay priest scandals go, this one’s pretty juicy.

Chicago Reverend Mark Sorvillo pleaded guilty last Friday of bilking more than $200,000 from his parish, St. Margaret Mary.

While Sorvillo spent some of the money on himself, the majority of the dough went to a married gay-for-pay male stripper, James Sosnicki.

The two men met while Sosnicki, who lives in Louisville, gyrated at a Chicago gay bar. Sorvillo apparently fancied him, because the men became fast “friends”. Sosnicki claims the men never slept together, but the details do seem a bit suspect – and not just for the stolen loot…



While investigating Sorvillo, authorities learned the priest had bought and insured an Acura in Louisville — and discovered the driver was one James Sosnicki. While searching the rectory at St. Margaret Mary, investigators found naked photos of a dark-haired man who turned out to be Sosnicki, according to law enforcement sources. One showed Sosnicki sleeping naked in the rectory bed. Investigators also found a poster advertising the 2004 “International Mr. Leather” competition — featuring Sosnicki as one of the models.

Oh, so it’s like that, huh? Well, now we know why Reverend Sorvillo likes religion so much – all those restraints.

Unfortunately for Sorvillo, he apparently couldn’t restrain himself very well:

Sorvillo gave Sosnicki his credit card to take on a trip to Los Angeles, and took him and a man called “Arti” to New York City, where they stayed in the theater district and “went to a lot of plays,” Sosnicki said. They also sampled New York’s gay club scene. “Mark wanted to have an encounter with another man, so Arti and I helped pick out a guy/prostitute at the club,” Sosnicki told police. “Mark and the guy went back to the hotel. They were gone about an hour.” In addition to the Acura, Sorvillo helped buy Sosnicki a motorcycle and his wife a car. The priest bought Sosnicki clothes and a Dell computer, too, according to the police report.

Despite all the treats, Sosnicki calls their friendship familial,

He was like a big uncle to me… For about a year or so, Mark would give me about $1,000 a month. He gave me the money for spending time with him.

Fuck, we wish our family would bribe us to chill. We’d see them way more often.

Sorvillo has been sentenced to four years in prison, although he’ll most likely only serve two. Describing the priest to the press, Sosnicki called him a “lost soul”. You know things are bad when a leech of strippers calling you lost.