Canonical case to begin for Candy Crush priest

'Never have I seen a case so heartbreaking'

A Philadelphia priest who pleaded guilty to using $40,000 of parish funds for cell phone video games is facing a canonical investigation for theft. But an expert in parish financial fraud said he hopes the case of Fr. Lawrence Kozak will end with a merciful response for archdiocesan officials.

Philadelphia’s Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter and Paul. Credit: Beyond My Ken/wikimedia CC BY SA 4.0

Kozak, 52, pleaded guilty April 25, to one misdemeanor charge — ​theft by receiving stolen property — after stealing $41,179.83 from St. Thomas More parish in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

The priest was sentenced to two years of probation, 80 hours of community service, pay $41,179.83 in restitution to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and write an apology letter to St. Thomas More parish, according to court documents obtained by The Pillar.

The court also stated that Kozak could not “hold a position of financial responsibility without oversight and the review and disclosure of the conviction,” while referring the priest for a mental health evaluation and treatment.

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Kozak, the former pastor at St. Thomas More parish in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, was removed from parish ministry and reported to police in 2022 after internal parish audits found an "astronomical amount of Apple transactions” in the parish’s credit card records.

Police found evidence that Kozak had spent more than $214,000 between 2018 and 2022 on Apple charges, mostly on credits for cell phone video games and gambling apps, among them Wizard of Oz slots, Cash Frenzy slots, Mario Kart Tour, Pokemon GO, Candy Crush Friends Saga, Candy Crush Jelly Saga, Credit Sesame, and Willy Wonka Slots Vegas Casino.

Police identified that of those charges, $43,397 were charged to a parish credit card, with the rest charged to cards in the priest’s name.

With the criminal case concluded, Kozak is expected to soon face a canonical case in the Philadelphia archdiocese.

The priest’s lawyer told The Pillar there is currently a formal preliminary investigation — the first step in the canonical process — underway. Archdiocesan judicial vicar Msgr. Paul DiGirolamo told The Pillar that the case has not yet reached a formal judicial stage. It is not clear whether Kozak will face a full canonical trial, an administrative penal process, or see the process conclude after the preliminary investigation.

Kozak’s lawyer told The Pillar June 25 that the case is likely to face delays after the priest’s canonist, Father David Deibel, died unexpectedly on June 16th.

Canon 1376 establishes that “a person who steals ecclesiastical goods or prevents their proceeds from being received” could face several canonical penalties, including the loss of office, faculties, or a fine.

During interviews with police, Kozak insisted that he had not meant to charge the parish credit card for “power ups” in his video games. The card was connected to his Apple ID, he said, to pay for the Microsoft suite on his devices, and when he exceeded credit limits on his own credit with game expenses, his account charged the parish credit card.

Kozak told police that he is not a “detail guy,” and that he had paid $10,600 of the parish credit card balance to repay the charges he had incurred.

But while Kozak remains on “administrative leave,” it is not clear whether the priest will be found canonically responsible for his actions, especially in light of a 2016 brain injury.

In August of that year, Kozak was struck by a car in Newton Square, Pennsylvania. He faced several surgeries, and reportedly suffered a serious brain injury, in addition to undergoing a partial amputation of one leg.

After his injury, the priest was out of ministry for almost a year, before he was assigned a parochial vicar in June 2017, and was at the same time on the faculty of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. In 2019, he was appointed administrator at St. Thomas More, and in 2020, appointed the pastor. He was removed from ministry in 2022.

When he was interviewed in October 2022, the priest told police that he had been seeing a therapist for addictive tendencies, and that he had deleted all of the games on his phone.

The priest insisted he had not deliberately used the parish credit card to support his gaming habit, and that he had paid $10,600 of the parish credit card balance to repay the charges he had incurred and had been working to repay the amount in full. Kozak’s lawyer shared that their position is the restitution previously had been paid in full.

Robert Warren is an assistant professor of accounting at Radford University, a retired IRS investigator, and an expert in theft and fraud in ecclesiastical contexts.

While Warren has frequently argued that stiff penalties in Church theft cases could serve as effective deterrents, he had a different view of Kozak’s case.

“I have reviewed and investigated over 120 of these cases, never have I seen a case so heartbreaking as Kozak’s,” Warren said.

“This is a man who was hit by a car, had part of his leg amputated and incurred a head injury. He gets addicted to these video games as he is recovering. I understand why the church called the DAs office — because they want to file a police report so they can get an insurance claim and they want to appear to be transparent with the parishioner’s money,” he explained.

“But if there is any case where you can have an excessive mercy shown and return a priest to good standing, I think Father Kozak qualifies.”