Plea, restitution spare jail time in embezzlement case
Robert Delaney and Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published September 21, 2007
Detroit — A guilty plea and agreement to make restitution will spare the former business manager of St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Hazel Park, the possibility of incarceration.
Janice A. Labroski, of St. Clair Shores, remains free on bond pending her Oct. 16 sentencing date before Oakland County Circuit Judge Rae Lee Chabot.
Labroski pleaded guilty to embezzlement Sept. 11 and promised to make restitution in the amount of $78,000 — $30,000 prior to her sentencing date and the remainder over time out of her employment earnings.
"I'm just happy that it's come to a conclusion, that justice is served, and that we will be receiving back at least a substantial amount of what was taken," Capuchin Fr. Bede Louzon, pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Parish, said Tuesday.
Had the case gone to trial and Labroski been convicted, she could have faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $15,000 or more.
Labroski had been business manager of the Hazel Park parish for six years when she abruptly left the job in late 2006 after repeated questions had arisen about complaints from parish vendors over unpaid bills.
An audit conducted by the archdiocesan Department of Finance and Administration concluded early this year there was a shortage of at least $90,000 in parish accounts attributable to Labroski.
A complaint was filed with Hazel Park Police in March and, following an investigation, Labroski was arrested Sept. 4. According to the police report, Labroski apparently accomplished the theft by issuing checks to herself or her husband from parish accounts, using a rubber stamp of Fr. Louzon's signature.
Fr. Louzon had become concerned as early as September 2006, when Labroski repeatedly answered questions about vendor complaints by becoming defensive, and insisting the bills had been paid and that it was all a misunderstanding.
Fr. Louzon requested an audit by the archdiocese, which Labroski tried to have postponed.
Labroski was already in her job when Fr. Louzon became pastor in 2001, but he advised pastors hiring business managers to be sure to do a thorough background check and insist on professional references, not just references from friends.
Looking back on the course of events, he said a change in attitude toward the pastor and a defensive stance whenever questioned should set off alarms that something may be wrong.
The Archdiocese of Detroit has a series of internal controls for pastors and parish leaders to follow in regard to parish-based financials. Parish and school budgets are processed annually, utilizing a standardized software program.
The archdiocese conducts full audits of parishes and schools whenever there is a change of pastor, whenever an audit is requested by a regional bishop, or if the Department of Finance and Administration's analysis of financial information submitted to it determines an audit is required.
Under a new policy just announced, limited audits will also be conducted of every parish at least once every three years. Also, a hotline will be set up to receive complaints.
Archdiocesan policy also requires each parish have a stewardship commission made up of business and other professionals who work with and advise the pastor
Even with financial controls and procedures, the archdiocese has not been immune to embezzlement on the parish level. About half of the cases were discovered as a result of the financial controls and auditing procedures, and the rest were discovered as a result of tips from concerned parishioners who suspected something was amiss.
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