Former principal sentenced for stealing from St. Clair County Catholic school
A former Smithton Catholic school principal was sentenced in federal court for embezzling from the school’s bank account.
Roy Joseph Monti, 54, of St. Louis, was sentenced to six months in federal prison, six months of home detention and an additional 18 months supervised release, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.
Monti pleaded guilty in September to one count of interstate transportation of stolen money.
Court documents show that from March 2017 to November 2019, Monti used his position as principal of St. John the Baptist Elementary School, to embezzle $113,061 from the school’s bank account.
Withdrawal slips showed valid purposes for the withdrawals when, in fact, Monti was keeping the money for himself, he admitted according to court records.
“He attempted to cover up the thefts by not reporting valid expenses on the withdrawal slips,” U.S. Attorney Steven Weinhoeft said. But, those notations turned out to be false and fraudulent.
Because Monti is a resident of Missouri and was working in Illinois he often carried large sums of the stolen money across state lines, which triggered the federal charge, the release stated.
As part of his sentencing, Monti was ordered to make full restitution to the school.
This case resulted from a referral and investigation by the FBI, with “significant assistance” from the Smithton Police Department, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Following Monti’s September guilty plea, the Diocese of Belleville issued a statement saying that it first discovered “accounting irregularities” in November of 2019. Monti resigned his position as principal after being confronted.
“The Diocese’s Chief Financial Officer indicated that the Parish and School will receive full restitution of the funds misappropriated by Mr. Monti — ensuring that funds entrusted to the Church by its parishioners, school parents and donors are used for their intended purpose, in this case the Catholic education of our children at St. John the Baptist School,” the diocese’s statement said.
This story was originally published December 14, 2020 at 2:33 PM.
