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Paris: the sacristan of Saint-Germain-des-Prés stung in the cash register

2021-03-26T18:43:40.595Z


For years, Georges, the sacristan, took control of the quest. On Wednesday he was sentenced to eighteen months suspended prison sentence


“We would have given him the good Lord without confession, is astonished Jean-Pierre Lecoq, the mayor (LR) of the 6th century.

I knew him because I myself am a parishioner.

He was kind.

I didn't know he was taking his tithe!

"

This Friday, at the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, boulevard Saint-Germain (6th arrondissement), one of the most chic and wealthy parishes in Paris, the one which celebrated the funerals of Juliette Gréco, Guy Bedos, Antoine Blondin, the author of

A monkey in winter

, the atmosphere was not jokes but rather gloomy.

On Wednesday, Georges, their historic sacristan, who remained in office for about thirty years, went through the justice box.

This man, the father of a family - "good-natured, nice, plump, glasses", specifies a parishioner - was sentenced in the Paris court to eighteen months in prison suspended and 75,000 euros in damages for theft.

The couple worked for the parish

Georges was not confined to changing the water in the vases, preparing the mass, the hosts, turning over the candles and going for the collection.

He also served himself in the cash register.

And copiously.

It was in the 1980s that Georges arrived from Syria.

The former priest had become friends with this Eastern Christian and offered him a job in the church as well as to his wife, but she in the kitchen, in the parish, to feast the priests.

The couple earned 2,500 euros per month and had official accommodation adjacent to the church on Boulevard Saint-Germain (6th arrondissement).

The affair began in November 2017. The priest who had entrusted Georges, among others, with the counting of the quest - generous in this church - realized a drastic drop in income.

Suspicion fell on the sacristan, who also led a great life.

On November 27, the parish priest, informing the diocese of Paris, which is also a civil party to the lawsuit, as well as the Archbishop of Paris, lodged a complaint against "X" for theft.

On December 4, 2017, the police disembarked at the end of mass.

"The sacristan was arrested in flagrante delicto", specifies the diocese of Paris.

The investigators had made a small strategist in the presence of a bailiff, just before and discreetly crossing out the tickets of the quest with a green stripe.

Georges was arrested in possession of… 320 euros in green notes.

100,000 euros on his account and 4 apartments

The search of his home, the investigation and the hearing brought to light his astonishing way of life that he had a hard time justifying… Georges had a bank deposit of more than 100,000 euros, five cars including an Audi convertible, four apartments in Paris, another in Charenton-le-Pont (Val-de-Marne), a house in Palaiseau (Essonne) and shares in four obscure companies, including one in petroleum additives.

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"It's as old as Herod to prick in the baskets of the quest!"

», Philosopher the mayor of the 6th century.

Just a year ago, the former priest of Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône) was sentenced to fifteen months in prison.

The clergyman had made a small business of historical liturgical objects and had embezzled the money of the parishioners.

“In Saint-Germain-des-Prés, quips Jean-Pierre Lecoq, if Georges had not been caught by the patrol, it could have lasted even longer”.

Source: leparis

All news articles on 2021-03-26

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