Ex-archdiocese employee pleads guilty

The former head of accounting accused of stealing more than $670,000 from the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis has pleaded guilty to theft and filing a false tax return.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi originally charged Scott Domeier, 51, of Cottage Grove with seven felony counts. Domeier pleaded guilty to five.

From February 1995 to January 2012, Domeier allegedly used Archdiocese money to pay credit card debt, personal expenses and private school tuition for his children. Court documents say Domeier also accepted first-class plane tickets from a vendor and diverted a check for Hurricane Katrina relief to pay for a car.

Domeier is scheduled for sentencing July 16. Domeier faces up to four years in prison and will have to pay restitution, Choi said.

A statement from the Archdiocese says insurance covered most of its financial losses and it has implemented "several internal control enhancements."

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