Gesu's ex-business manager gets 2 years in prison for stealing from parish

Patricia Ann Stanz, the former business manager for Gesu Parish.

The former business manager for Gesu Roman Catholic Church was sentenced today to two years in prison.

U.S. District Court Judge James Carr also ordered Patricia Ann Stanz, 61, to pay $505,777 in restitution.

Stanz pleaded guilty in September to one count each of counterfeit securities and fraudulent use of access device after admitting that a gambling addiction prompted her to steal more than $525,000 from the West Toledo parish where she worked.

Federal prosecutors said she used the parish’s signature stamp to cash some 97 checks totaling $295,000 from the parish’s checking account between June, 2008 and February, 2011. She also used a Gesu credit card for purchases and cash advances totaling more than $230,000 from September, 2008 to August, 2011.