wfn.org | ELCA New England Synod Treasurer Arrested

[ELCANEWS@ELCASCO.ELCA.ORG]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

NEWSBRIEF

September 30, 1996

NEW ENGLAND TREASURER ARRESTED

The former treasurer of the New England Synod of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America, George A. Patrick, was arrested Sept.
19 and charged with embezzlement of $800,000 from the synod's
endowment and restricted fund accounts.  Bishop Robert L. Isaksen
said in a press release, "I am personally grieving both my
misplaced trust and my inability to suspect that something was
amiss."  Isaksen stressed his confidence that recent changes in
the ways the synod manages its money will make it less vulnerable
in the future.  He said, "Protecting the trustworthiness of the
synod remains my chief goal in this matter.  We are continuing in
our commitment to the public to disclose the facts, discourage
rumors, recover the missing funds and safeguard from future abuse
of all the resources entrusted to our care."  Patrick was
arrested at this home in Cheshire, Conn.  He resigned in December
and had been under investigation since auditors discovered funds
missing from the synod's restricted endowment accounts.  The
synod has taken aggressive steps to revamp the management of its
finances, applying new internal controls, policies and
procedures.  Isaksen said, "We have moved from an old system
where a trusted few were invested with virtually complete control
to a new system where more people are held accountable for
specific tasks.  We have checks and balances.  What the auditors
call "control consciousness" is certainly right and proper when
we are talking about the stewardship of the church's financial
assets."  Recovery of the missing funds is being pursued with
bonding companies, the synod reported.  The New England Synod is
77,000 Lutherans in 19 congregations across six New England
states and a portion of New York.

For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service,
(312) 380-2958 or AHAFFTEN@ELCA.ORG; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir.,
(312) 380-2955 or FRANKI@ELCA.ORG