Elmhurst bookkeeper pleads guilty to church theft

An Elmhurst man faces up to 3½ years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to stealing more than $45,000 from a church where he was a volunteer bookkeeper.

Robert C. Drefs, 54, pleaded guilty to felony theft at a hearing before DuPage County Judge Kathryn Creswell. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to cap sentencing at 3½ years when Drefs otherwise would face up to seven.

Drefs, a former bookkeeper at Messiah Lutheran Church in Elmhurst, was charged last March after a church leader discovered he had written nearly $46,000 in unauthorized checks to an outside account.

Assistant State’s Attorney William Wu said the outside account belonged to an Elmhurst firm where Drefs once worked as a bookkeeper. After the firm went out of business, Wu said, Drefs continued to use the account, funneling stolen funds there between July 2008 and May 2010.

“He said he spent the money on medical bills,” Wu said in court.

Drefs, of the 100 block of East Wilson Street, appears to have no prior criminal history in DuPage but he has been taken to small claims court three times since 1999, according to court records.

Drefs also could be sentenced to probation. His attorney declined to comment ahead of sentencing, which is set for April 24.