Former Pennsylvania priest accused of stealing nearly $750,000 appears in court

Gregory Madeya, the former Ukrainian Catholic priest charged with embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from local churches, parishioners and his own mother, was in court on Thursday.

Appearing at a magisterial court in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, Madeya waived his preliminary hearing and has chosen to take his case directly to court.

Madeya's attorney and lawyers from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office met briefly to discuss next steps in the case.

Ultimately, the judge set a straight bond for Madeya at $25,000; he forbade Madeya from leaving the commonwealth and demanded his passport be turned over.

"The judge was very reasonable, and the attorney general was very reasonable, so we had his bail reduced to a monetary bail, which he can post, and he has been in jail now for approximately three weeks," attorney Patrick Thomassey, who represents Madeya, said.

Madeya was arrested last month at his home in Florida and later extradited to Pennsylvania. He is charged with stealing over $750,000 from three churches in Derry Township, Jeannette and McKeesport, as well as from donors and affiliates of those churches. He is also charged with stealing nearly a quarter of a million dollars from his own mother.

"This case involves a tremendous amount of paperwork," said Thomassey. "I am not going to comment on the truthfulness or accuracy of the case, but I think it is one where we could have a trial, and there is a lot to be said about the whole situation involving how priests are paid in the Catholic Church."

According to his criminal docket, Madeya has yet to make bail and is still being housed at the Westmoreland County Prison. He will be back in court at the Westmoreland County Courthouse on Wednesday, Oct. 14.