Pittsburgh Episcopal priest pleads guilty to stealing baseball cards from Walmart
The former dean of the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral has pled guilty to stealing baseball cards from a Walmart, but he remains in hot water over several dozen artifacts that have gone missing.
Rev. Aidan Smith had been a popular and energetic leader at the downtown cathedral, until his shocking arrest in February for stealing hundreds of dollars worth of baseball cards from the Walmart store in Economy Borough, Beaver County.
In March, he resigned his position as dean after the cathedral said it discovered he had taken — and was in the process of selling — dozens of cathedral-owned artifacts, putting several chalices, communion plates and silver crosses up for sale on eBay.
Cathedral officials went to his home in Ambridge, where communication director Andrew Muhl says they recovered 91 missing artifacts.
"Others could not be recovered because they had already been sold," Muhl told KDKA-TV.
With regards to the baseball cards, Smith has pled guilty to one count of retail theft, downgraded from a felony to a summary offense, and has paid a $201 fine. The alleged theft of artifacts is an ongoing matter and the focus of an internal disciplinary board investigation. The board is comprised of representatives from five Episcopal dioceses and has a range of actions it can take.
While Smith has resigned as dean, he is still an Episcopal priest. If he is found to have taken and sold the artifacts, he could be removed from the priesthood, and charges could be referred to law enforcement for criminal prosecution.
Through his attorney, Smith had no comment. But Muhl said they expect a decision by the disciplinary board in the near future. In the meantime, Smith is banned from the cathedral.
