CENTREVILLE, MI (WTVB) – St. Joseph County District Court hearings in the embezzlement case of a former Branch County Catholic priest have been rescheduled.
A pre-examination conference for Reverend Richard Fritz is now scheduled for June 13, 2017 with a preliminary hearing June 20.
No reason has been given for the delay in the hearings, which were originally scheduled to take place this past week.
St. Joseph County prosecutors filed embezzlement charges against Fritz last month. He is accused of stealing over $213,000 from St. Mary’s Assumption in Bronson and St. Barbara Mission in Colon. Investigators think he allegedly used the money to buy lottery tickets.
Fritz resigned last October following an investigation into questionable accounting practices between 2010 and 2016.
The Diocese of Kalamazoo says that Father Fritz has transitioned into full retirement. While he is still a priest, Fritz is not currently active in public ministry. Fritz was ordained in 1975.
