Catholic Priest Guilty Of Drug Charge, Laundered Money Through Sex Shop

Another scandal has rocked the Catholic Church, as one of its priests has admitted to dealing large amounts of methamphetamines out of his apartment, in addition to running an adult video and sex toy shop.

Last Tuesday Kevin Wallin, 61, of Waterbury, Connecticut plead guilty to a drug distribution conspiracy charge at the U.S. District Court in Hartford, Conn. He faces six additional charges and could serve a maximum lifetime sentence as well as be forced to pay up to $10 million in fines.

Wallin, or "Monsignor Meth" as some have called him, was part of a cross-country drug ring whose main product was crystal meth. He is suspected of making around $300,000 from the operation, and had purchased a sex toy shop to launder the money he made off of his drug sales.

"I feel terrible about it. And we just keep praying for him, that's all," one of his parishioners told ABC in January. "If these allegations are true, we pray he repents, makes his peace with God, like we all have to."

The priest was arrested January 3 along with another suspect after a raid of his home turned up drug paraphernelia and packaging materials. In total, four other suspects were arrested in the DEA sting.

Wallin had already been suspended from his duties by the diocese back in May after several incidents of sexually inappropriate encounters with men in his church. He was pastor for the St. Augustine Parish for nine years until that point, and resigned a month later.

"Msgr. Wallin's guilty plea represents an important step in his coming to terms with his own actions and their impact on others," the Diocese of Bridgeport stated. "It is a difficult moment for all of us but we hope it is also the first step in rebuilding his life. We pray that he moves toward healing and wholeness."

This continues a long line of morally questionable behavior by leadership in the Catholic Church. Though such indiscretions usually involve sex, the added component of drug distribution makes this case even tougher to bear for the increasingly-maligned Catholic Church. This comes on the heels of a report that Pope Benedict resigned amid a sexual and monetary scandal brewing in the Vatican, which you can read here.