A Kansas priest who preached sacrifice now stands accused of blowing parish money on cruises, casinos, and designer clothes.
Story Snapshot
- A church audit claims Father Richard Storey diverted almost $160,000 to fund a luxury lifestyle.
- Cruises, casino cash, international trips, and retail splurges are all listed in a court affidavit.
- Storey has pleaded not guilty and is legally presumed innocent while the case moves forward.
- The scandal exposes how weak church financial controls can betray parish trust and basic common sense.
How a popular priest ended up at the center of a financial scandal
Parishioners at Curé of Ars Catholic Church in Leawood, Kansas, knew Father Richard Story as the man at the altar, not the man in handcuffs.
That changed when police arrested him on suspicion of stealing about $160,000 from the parish, after an internal church audit flagged serious problems in the books.[3]
The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas announced his arrest and stressed that he is presumed innocent while the legal process plays out.
Former Leawood priest allegedly stole $160K from church for cruises, casino and clothes https://t.co/bZT0gq4dlQ
— The Kansas City Star (@KCStar) June 16, 2026
The theft charge covers a span of several years, from 2021 through 2025, when Storey led the parish.[5] He actually resigned in September 2025 because of a different police investigation involving another adult, but the money questions caught up later.[5]
Church leaders say they are cooperating fully with law enforcement and will not release many details yet. That silence leaves the affidavit and audit as the main window into what may have happened.
What the court affidavit says about cruises, casinos, and clothes
The internal audit looked at parish finances over four years and flagged what it called unauthorized spending of $159,326.92 connected to Storey.[1] Much of that spending allegedly went through a parish credit card, as well as another account whose name is blacked out in the affidavit.[1]
On paper, the card mixed legitimate parish charges with personal charges, making it harder to spot the pattern until auditors dug in.
The affidavit paints a picture that feels less like parish work and more like a rewards-club fantasy. Court documents say church funds paid for one or more cruises totaling about $77,000.[1]
During a July 2023 cruise, there was a single “casino cash withdrawal” of roughly $23,900 on the parish card.[1] A second large withdrawal, tied to a February 2025 cruise, added almost $26,000 more.[1] Together, those two withdrawals alone eclipse what many families earn in months.
Travel, medical bills, and ‘donations’ that boosted the numbers
The affidavit does not stop at cruises and casino cash. It also lists around $27,000 in travel costs for trips to London, Paris, Dublin, and New York, all billed to parish resources.[2]
Auditors say they found more than $11,000 in pharmacy, medical, dental, and eyewear expenses charged to church money, including a dental procedure over $4,400 that should have been personal.[1][2]
On top of that, they reported nearly $6,000 spent at retailers such as Jos. A. Bank and Nordstrom Rack.[2]
One of the stranger details is the use of church funds to make “donations” back to church causes. Records described in the affidavit say Storey used parish money to make multiple contributions to parish fundraising efforts, totaling more than $30,000 between the card and the second account.[1][2]
Those donations made the fundraisers look more successful than they were, while the parish was, in effect, giving money to itself. That kind of circular giving breaks basic financial honesty and misleads donors who thought they were carrying the load.
The defense, the presumption of innocence, and what has not been proven
Despite the strong numbers in the affidavit, this case is still an allegation, not a conviction. Storey has pleaded not guilty to the felony theft charge in Johnson County District Court and is out on bond with conditions that include a tracking device and surrendering his passport.[2]
American justice demands we remember that a charge is not proof, even when the accusations sound outrageous. The courtroom, not social media or gossip, will decide what can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Church statements echo that point. The archdiocese publicly reminded the faithful that Storey is presumed innocent until a court or internal church process decides otherwise.[3][5]
That presumption matters, especially in an age when public trust in institutions is low and any story about a priest and money or misconduct spreads fast.
What this reveals about parish controls, trust, and responsibility
The bigger lesson reaches far beyond one priest and one parish. Catholic experts have warned for years that church embezzlement happens more often than people think, and usually where one person controls too much and no one asks hard questions.[12]
When a single priest can spend, approve, and explain away large charges with weak documentation, common sense says temptation and abuse are not far behind. That is a structural problem, not just a personal failing.
Guidance from church financial manuals stresses basic safeguards that sound very familiar to any small business owner: separation of duties, multiple signatures on larger checks, receipts for every payment, random audits, and clear, public reporting of parish finances.[12][13] Those are not big-government ideas; they are simple accountability tools that respect the people who give their hard-earned money.
Ordinary parishioners should not be shy about asking where the money goes. That is not lack of faith. It is stewardship, and it may be the only thing standing between their offerings and the next cruise statement.
Sources:
[1] Web – He portrayed himself as holier-than-thou but priest allegedly stole …
[2] Web – Former Leawood, Kansas, priest arrested Saturday for theft of funds
[3] Web – Affidavit details alleged embezzlement by Leawood priest
[5] Web – Court documents say Father Richard Storey used more than …
[12] Web – Catholic Church sex abuse cases in the United States – Wikipedia
[13] Web – How to stop embezzlement in your parish – U.S. Catholic
