Omaha-area priest accused of embezzling $280,000 is charged with 2 felonies

MAHA -- As expected, a priest who served as chancellor of the Archdiocese of Omaha has been arrested and charged with two felonies after allegations emerged that he embezzled from a parish in Springfield and from a retired Omaha priest.

The Rev. Michael Gutgsell, who served as chancellor of the Omaha archdiocese from 1994 to 2003 and has served as a parish priest since then, turned himself in Friday morning. After a hearing Friday afternoon, a judge ordered the 73-year-old to be released from the Douglas County Jail on his own recognizance. Prosecutors did not object.

According to court documents, Gutgsell admitted to taking $106,000 from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Springfield, where he has spent the past few years. The Archdiocese of Omaha since has removed him from his duties at the parish.

Gutgsell also admitted to taking $180,000 from the bank accounts of retired Omaha priest Theodore Richling, according to the court documents. Gutgsell told investigators he had planned to pay the money back.

Read more: https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/crime-and-courts/omaha-area-priest-accused-of-embezzling-280-000-is-charged-with-2-felonies/article_0caac298-f626-59be-82be-50aa173a0a4a.html
(Lincoln Journal Star)