Priest Behind Bars for Stealing From Church

A Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to felony theft after being charged with embezzling more than $350,000 from two parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington will spend three years in prison.

A judge sentenced the Rev. Cornelius Breslin on Friday to 10 years in prison but suspended all but three years.

The 60-year-old Breslin pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of felony theft over $100,000. Prosecutors agreed to drop a second theft count and two counts of falsifying business records.

Investigators found that Breslin gave much of the money to a man who told them he had a sexual relationship with the priest. Breslin on Friday denied having a sexual relationship with the man, who was a parishioner at another church where Breslin previously worked.