SNAP lawyers accuse Arch Mil of cooking the books by $75 mil

An attorney for victims of clergy sex abuse suggested Friday that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee moved as much as $75 million off its books over the last six years in an effort to shield it from sex abuse settlements - allegations denied by the archdiocese.

Attorney Jeffrey Anderson of St. Paul implied the archdiocese engaged in a shell game during a bankruptcy hearing before Assistant U.S. Trustee David Asbach.

In an e-mail response to questions from the Journal Sentinel after the hearing, a spokeswoman for the church denied it moved assets to shield them from victims.

"To the contrary, the archdiocese has been liquidating all nonessential assets for years to help pay for the costs of therapy and voluntary settlements," Julie Wolf said.

Wolf said the $75 million belonged to parishes and was held by the archdiocese in an investment account until 2004, after which it "ceased providing such services." Archdiocese bankruptcy attorney Daryl Diesing said he believes the money was returned to the parishes.

JSOnline