Pa. Church's Ex-CFO Gets 2-7 Years in $900K Theft

Lawyer says gambling and shopping addictions led to the thefts

The former top finance officer of the Philadelphia archdiocese is going to prison for two to seven years for embezzling $900,000.
 
A lawyer for 42-year-old Anita Guzzardi says she succumbed to gambling and shopping addictions after feeling betrayed by the church over the priest sex-abuse scandal.
 
Guzzardi had worked at the Roman Catholic archdiocese since she was 20, and was making $124,000 a year as chief financial officer when she was fired last year.
 
Prosecutors say she took relatives on trips to Hawaii, the Caribbean and San Francisco, and spent lavishly on herself and others.
 
They say the money also went to pay down a mortgage on a $425,000 house in suburban Haddon Heights, New Jersey.
 
Guzzardi has repaid $260,000, and has been ordered to pay the remaining restitution.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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