Lightning watch
Hey, folks are just lookin' for karmic trouble if they steal from a church -- particularly when they steal funds earmarked for needy children.
But trouble follows stupid thieves, too.
Take the case of the not-so-mysterious theft of $25,000 from the Church of St. Mel's in Flushing, N.Y. According to an account from the New York Times, the burglary took place as the church was filling up for Christmas Mass: A priest saw a man lugging a big, metal box from the church out to his Lincoln Navigator with Vermont plates. Witnesses asked the guy what was in the box. The guy said elevator equipment.
Hmmm.
The box, of course, held a Christmastime offering, which the man put into his Lincoln -- one with Vermont plates -- and drove away.
Police arrested the vehicle's owner, 25-year-old Daniel Morales, and an accomplice a few days later. Morales had reported that someone stole his Lincoln hours after the robbery, and the Times story doesn't say whether police have recovered the vehicle. But the story does make it pretty clear the police feel they got their man.
The church apparently came out of the theft OK. About $6,000 in cash was recovered. Most of the donations were in checks, which can be rewritten. And several congregants and businesses have offered to replace the cash still missing.
Which leaves me with two pressing questions:
Is there really a St. Mel? And does he own a diner?
But trouble follows stupid thieves, too.
Take the case of the not-so-mysterious theft of $25,000 from the Church of St. Mel's in Flushing, N.Y. According to an account from the New York Times, the burglary took place as the church was filling up for Christmas Mass: A priest saw a man lugging a big, metal box from the church out to his Lincoln Navigator with Vermont plates. Witnesses asked the guy what was in the box. The guy said elevator equipment.
Hmmm.
The box, of course, held a Christmastime offering, which the man put into his Lincoln -- one with Vermont plates -- and drove away.
Police arrested the vehicle's owner, 25-year-old Daniel Morales, and an accomplice a few days later. Morales had reported that someone stole his Lincoln hours after the robbery, and the Times story doesn't say whether police have recovered the vehicle. But the story does make it pretty clear the police feel they got their man.
The church apparently came out of the theft OK. About $6,000 in cash was recovered. Most of the donations were in checks, which can be rewritten. And several congregants and businesses have offered to replace the cash still missing.
Which leaves me with two pressing questions:
Is there really a St. Mel? And does he own a diner?
posted by Paul Asay | 9:02 AM
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