Ms. Collins had worked for eight years in accounts payable for the archdiocese. Colleagues praised her quiet dedication and hard work; her volunteer work at at St. Patrick’s Cathedral won mention in the church’s newspaper, Catholic New York.
So, no one questioned the hundreds of checks she wrote at the archdiocese to cover small office expenses. There was no reason to question it. And the amounts were kept under $2,500 each to avoid the approval of a supervisor required for larger checks.
Ms. Collins lived in a modest home in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx, and did not have an overly lavish lifestyle. So, where did the money go?
On Monday, NYPD detectives carried out over sixteen boxes of dolls, many from the Madame Alexander catalog. Ms. Collins also used the money on $18,000 in furniture from Bloomingdale’s, $37,000 in clothes from Barneys and Brooks Brothers, and $19,000 in goods from an Irish gift shop (Mary-Anne's in North Riverdale).
Where did the money come from? The money was designated for Catholic education. The archdiocese has been closing churches and schools for lack of money, and asking for more than $15 million in an annual charity appeal. So if your parish seems obnoxious in asking for money during the annual stewardship appeal, now you know why.
Ms. Collins was confronted about the missing money in December after an annual audit raised red flags. She was fired, and the matter went to Cyrus R.Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney.
When Ms. Collins was initially hired by the archdiocese in 2003, criminal background checks were not performed on prospective employees, a policy it has since instituted. Had background checks been common then, they would have known that Ms. Collins she had been once been convicted of grand larceny -- Ms. Collins was arrested in June 1999, and charged with stealing $46,000 from AccuStaff, a Manhattan temporary employment agency where she worked as a payroll manager
Ms. Collins was charged with first-degree grand larceny and falsifying business records. She could face a maximum of 25 years in prison on the grand larceny count alone. Judge Michelle A. Armstrong set bail at $750,000 in a secured bond or $350,000 in cash.
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