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DuPage prosecutors want to revoke former Roselle priest's probation

A Catholic priest convicted of gambling away more than $300,000 he stole from his Roselle church may face jail time as prosecutors seek to revoke his probation.

Prosecutors said Thursday they are prepared to prove the Rev. John Regan has failed to repay the money he took from St. Walter Parish and set an April 14 hearing.

In May 2012, Judge John Kinsella ruled Regan could go back to work for the Catholic Church as long as he maintained "a menial job" to repay the parish. At the time, Kinsella said menial labor was more akin to how most parishioners earned the money that Regan gambled away.

Regan's attorney, Jack Donahue, said Thursday there is "not a scintilla of evidence" that Regan has defaulted on his debt. In fact, he said, the Diocese of Joliet has him on a repayment plan that runs through 2031.

Diocese spokesman Edward Flavin confirmed all details of Regan's payment plan with the diocese Thursday afternoon but declined to comment because the case is ongoing.

Outside of court, Donahue said Regan had "religiously" been making restitution payments of about $341 a month to the diocese. Last month, Regan increased his monthly repayment to $700 a month. He still owes about $272,000.

"(Prosecutors) are going to have to prove that he has a willful failure to pay (to revoke his probation)," Donahue said. "But they can't even show a failure to pay."

Regan began stealing from St. Walter within two months of starting there in 2006 and, in two years, lost about $300,000 at riverboat casinos.

Regan was sentenced in September 2011 to a 60-day jail term, followed by 150 days of work-release. He also was ordered to pay $295,000 in restitution and complete four years of probation, 500 hours of public service and 40 days of work detail for the sheriff's office.

The diocese later repaid the church, and Regan was ordered to repay the diocese. Flavin said Regan was assigned to St. Mary Immaculate Parish in Joliet as a priest in residence last year. As a priest in residence he is allowed to say Mass among other responsibilities.

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