Kevin Wallin Update: Ex-priest pleads not guilty in cross-country meth ring

(AP) HARTFORD, Conn. - Kevin Wallin, a suspended Roman Catholic priest in Connecticut, has pleaded not guilty to federal drug charges accusing of him of taking in more than $300,000 from the sale of methamphetamines.

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The Connecticut Post reports that the 61-year-old Wallin entered the pleas Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford. Four other people are charged in the alleged drug-selling operation that authorities say involved shipments of methamphetamine from California to Connecticut.

Wallin is the former pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Bridgeport. He resigned in 2011 citing health and personal issues and was suspended from public ministry in May by the Diocese of Bridgeport.

Federal prosecutors say Wallin sold most of the drugs out of his apartment in Waterbury from August to December and that some of the transactions involved an undercover officer.

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January 18, 2013 - Ex-priest among 5 charged in cross-country meth ring