A Connecticut priest has been charged with dealing meth and trying to buy an adult novelty store to launder the cash, The New York Times reports.
Catholic authorities forced Monsignor Kevin Wallin out of his job as pastor of the Cathedral of St. Augustine in Bridgeport after shocking allegations about sex and drugs surfaced.
Wallin was allegedly using and dealing crystal meth, cross-dressing, and having sex with other men.
Wallin, 61, even allegedly tried to buy a sex toy store called "Land of Oz and Dorothy's Place," in North Haven, Ct., The New York Times reported. Police suspect he wanted to use the store to launder the cash.
He pleaded not guilty to drug charges last month in U.S. District Court in Hartford, where prosecutors accused him of raking in more than $300,000 from selling drugs.
Wallin's fall was steep.
When Wallin arrived in Bridgeport in the early '80s, the local papers hailed him as a "new breed of priest," the Connecticut Post reported. He served as a secretary to bishops and cardinals, taught at a Catholic middle school in Greenwich, and became known for his compelling Sunday sermons.
In early 2011, friends and parishioners began to notice he was acting strangely, had nervous facial tics, and looked like "a refugee from a concentration camp," one friend told the Times.
By July of 2011, Wallin was allegedly paying an undercover DEA agent $9,000 a week for six ounces of crystal meth, according to the CT Post. The Times reported that he could go to prison for the rest of his life.
Wallin's attorney, public defender Kelly Barrett, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Head over to The New York Times to read the entire fascinating profile of Wallin >
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