KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A court document is revealing additional details in a property theft case against a former Leawood, Kansas, priest.
Father Richard Storey, the former priest at Curé of Ars Catholic Church, is charged with theft of property or services valued over $100,000, per court records. He was arrested by the Leawood Police Department on May 23.
An affidavit filed in the case states the police department was alerted on Jan. 23 to possible embezzlement from the church, and the police met with church officials and the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas on March 19 to review the church’s finances.
An audit of the Curé of Ars’ finances from 2021 to 2025 revealed “suspected unauthorized spending” of $159,326.92 on a parish credit card account, church officials and the Archdiocese reported to police.
The Archdiocese’s audit showed unauthorized spending for cruises, travel, Cure of Ars donations, health and wellness, retail, auctions, and dental expenses.
Storey reportedly didn’t keep consistent financial records or provide documentation for a significant portion of the expenditures, making it difficult to track how many personal charges there were, per a court document.
Archdiocese officials turned in financial statements and activity to police on April 9, which revealed payments totaling $25,221.44 to a non-church account — a Citibank account held by Storey. A subpoena for Storey’s records by Leawood detectives confirmed the funds paid to his personal account.
A court document says an earlier audit from October 2022 sparked spending concerns and a request by the Archdiocese to change procedure at the Leawood parish. Storey reportedly did not implement any changes, and the unauthorized spending continued.
Storey is scheduled for his second appearance on July 15.
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