Collection theft

PROSECUTORS have charged a Pittsburgh priest with misappropriating at least $1.5m (almost £1m) from two dioceses over the past 26 years. Fr Walter J Benz, 72, and his associate Mary Anne Albaugh are alleged to have siphoned off money from church collections to fund a lavish lifestyle, including luxurious holidays, gambling and expensive cars. Police said they found opened collection envelopes on the floor of Albaugh's house. after a diocesan audit picked up irregularities in Fr Benz's accounts.