Diocese suspends Ohio priest after tax-fraud case

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio Roman Catholic priest who pleaded guilty in a federal tax-fraud case has been suspended as he and federal prosecutors appeal his sentence.

The Beacon Journal in Akron reports the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland suspended the Rev. Samuel Ciccolini last week, meaning he can’t participate in public ministry.

Father Ciccolini was ordered in October to pay nearly $3.5 million in restitution to the fundraising arm of an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center he founded. He also was fined $350,000 and sentenced to one day in prison for federal banking and income tax fraud charges.

The 68-year-old keeps his standing as a priest and is still allowed to live at the Akron parish where he has assisted since 1980.