Former priest pleads guilty to theft, repays $160,000 to parish

A former Catholic priest paid a restitution sum of nearly $160,000 to the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kan., as part of a plea agreement, the archdiocese said in a statement this week. Richard Storey pleaded guilty to theft on Tuesday, and the restitution money went to his former parish, Curé of Ars, according to the statement. His sentencing will take place in January 2027, according to the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office.

Storey resigned from leading the parish in September 2025 and now faces a church investigation. The church investigation will probe additional claims involving an adult victim, the archdiocese said, without providing further details of those claims. Civil authorities were also conducting a criminal investigation into that situation at one point, but it was unclear whether their probe was ongoing or if the charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.

An independent outside firm will review the archdiocese’s finances and refer its findings to an oversight committee, the archdiocese said.

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report on the theft of a bronze statue from a California Catholic church.