LOS ANGELES: Two Catholic school nuns in California have admitted to embezzling about $500,000, and using the funds over the years for travel and gambling in Las Vegas, their order said on Monday.
Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang, who are said to be best friends, took the money from tuition, fees and donations at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, south of Los Angeles.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles said the missing money was discovered during a routine audit and it is believed the nuns had stolen the money over at least a decade.
Kreuper was a former principal at the school where she worked for 20 years until her retirement earlier this year. Chang was a teacher for 20 years and she also retired this year, according to local media reports.
“Our community is concerned and saddened by this situation and regret any injury to our long relationship with the families of the school,” the Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the nuns’ order, said in a statement sent to AFP. “The Sisters of St. Joseph both desire and intend to make complete restitution to St. James School.”
Parents were reportedly informed about the nuns’ misdeeds earlier this month.
Though police have been alerted, the Archdiocese has said it does not plan to seek criminal charges against the pair, who spent decades as students’ moral enforcers.
“We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips. We do know they had a pattern of going to casinos, and the reality is, they used the account as their personal account,” the Press-Telegram quoted an attorney telling parents and alumni at a recent meeting.
The nuns allegedly got away with their crime by depositing some checks made out to the school for tuition and other fees into a bank account different than the one used by the school.
“Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana have expressed to me and asked that I convey to you, the deep remorse they each feel for their actions and ask for your forgiveness and prayers,” Michael Meyers, the school’s pastor, said in a letter to parents.
“They and their order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana.”
California nuns stole schools funds for Vegas gambling, travel
California nuns stole schools funds for Vegas gambling, travel
- The nuns allegedly got away with their crime by depositing some checks made out to the school for tuition and other fees into a bank account
Ukraine toils to restore power and heat, Zelensky warns of new attack
- Russia has systematically attacked Ukraine’s energy system since it invaded its neighbor in 2022 and the air strikes have intensified in recent months
KYIV: Emergency crews toiled to restore heat and power to beleaguered Kyiv residents on Monday, more than three days after Russian strikes on energy targets, and President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that new air attacks could be imminent.
Officials said hundreds of apartment blocks in the capital remained without heat despite round-the-clock efforts by the crews. Humanitarian centers, dubbed “resilience points,” were open for people to keep warm and charge electronic devices.
Russia has systematically attacked Ukraine’s energy system since it invaded its neighbor in 2022 and the air strikes have intensified in recent months.
Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, said a program was being launched to raise wages and provide support for participants in emergency work brigades.
He issued a new warning to heed air raid alerts as night-time temperatures sank to minus 15 Celsius (5 F) or lower.
“There is intelligence information. The Russians are preparing a new massive strike,” he said.
“Drones to exhaust air defense systems and missiles. They want to take advantage of the cold. The strike may occur in the coming days. Please take care of yourselves. Protect Ukraine.”
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba, writing on Telegram, said 90 percent of Kyiv’s apartment buildings have had heating restored, leaving fewer than 500 dwellings still to be connected.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko put the number with no heating at 800, most on the west bank of the Dnipro River. He said a meeting of the Kyiv city council would be convened on Thursday to debate the most pressing issues facing residents.
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, presenting the program for bonus payments, said the work conducted by emergency crews stood “at the very limit of human endurance, often involving life-threatening risks across the entire country.
“This applies to specialists who, in freezing conditions, go directly to the sites of strikes and restore supplies of heat, electricity, water and gas.”
Residents made their way to one of the humanitarian centers on the east bank of the river in the evening — two tents pitched on a small area of open ground.
They charged their devices and chatted, while outside, the din of whining generators filled the air.
“It’s dark in the apartment. I have an electric stove, so it’s impossible to heat up lunch or dinner, or make tea,” said Kateryna Zubko, 67, an engineer who has lived without power, heating and water since the latest attack.
“We support each other. Ukrainians are such resilient people, I think that this war will end someday, it can’t go on forever.”
