'Monsignor Meth' Kevin Wallin Sentenced To 5-Plus Years For Drug Distribution In Connecticut
HARTFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A suspended Roman Catholic priest in Connecticut has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for running a meth distribution ring.
Monsignor Kevin Wallin said at the hearing Thursday in Hartford federal court that, when he was arrested, it was the best day of his life because it saved him from his drug dealing.
The 63-year-old priest in Bridgeport received methamphetamine in the mail from California suppliers and supplied a New York distributor. Prosecutors say he also bought a sex shop, apparently to launder profits from the drug ring.
Suspended Bridgeport Priest Sentenced To 5 years For Meth Distribution
"I think we understand now the role that addiction played in his behavior," Brian Wallace, a spokesman for the Diocese of Bridgeport, told WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau. "It was not something that we were aware of as a diocese, nor do I think most of or any of his friends were."
Wallin has been in jail since he pleaded guilty to drug charges in 2013.
He was sentenced to five years and five months in prison. He could have been sentenced to 10 years.
The court received letters from many religious leaders throughout Connecticut seeking leniency.
Dubbed by some in the media as "Monsignor Meth," Wallin was pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Bridgeport for nine years until he resigned in June 2011, citing health and personal reasons. He previously served six years as pastor of St. Peter's Church in Danbury until 2002.
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