A ROMAN Catholic priest with expensive tastes and a penchant for male escorts was expected yesterday to surrender himself to police in Connecticut, who have been after him ever since the Sacred Heart Church found itself short of $1.3-million.

According to this report, to many of his supporters, the Rev Kevin Gray was a humble servant of God who helped those in need, sacrificed for his flock and preached the Gospel in sermons described as soul-touching.



I think that’s how he explained his absence from the parish.

But police say a months-long criminal investigation revealed that the 64-year-old Gray was leading an extravagant double life that his parishioners never knew about.That secret life included male escorts hired in New York, $200,000 in restaurant bills and hotel stays in the lap of Manhattan luxury.Detectives say they discovered Gray, a well-respected Catholic priest and former leader of several city parishes, siphoned roughly $1.3 million from Sacred Heart to pay for a lavish lifestyle usually reserved for the wealthy.If proved, the charge against him of first-degree larceny could lead to 20 years in prison.Police say for the past seven years he wrote cheques from the church bank account to pay for designer clothes by Armani and overnight stays at Madison Avenue hotels.Although police believe Gray told his congregation he was battling cancer, detectives have determined Gray has never had cancer.Said police spokesman Capt Christopher Corbett:

Police have investigated Gray since May, when the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford came across financial “discrepancies” during an internal investigation. Archdiocese officials presented their findings to police, who say they’ve confirmed Gray embezzled the funds.

Hat tip: Holland