Fox Twin Cities
Minister in Theft Case Speaks with FOX 9
Leon Piepenbrink charged with theft by swindle
Updated: Wednesday, 04 May 2011, 11:55 PM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 04 May 2011, 11:55 PM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 04 May 2011, 11:55 PM CDT
by Leah Beno / FOX 9 News
Minister Leon Piepenbrink hardly seemed concerned about the seven felony counts filed against him when he spoke with FOX 9 about the case.
“The facts will come out on that,” Pienpenbrink said. “There were some differences as far as accounting and so forth and so, we'll take care of this.”
Dakota County prosecutors filed theft by swindle charges against Piepenbrink, who is accused of stealing more than $100,000 from the Shepherd of the Hills Church in Inver Grove Heights.
Pienpenbrink worked at the church for five years where his primary role was as the Hmong Ministry Coordinator.
Investigators say Piepenbrink told his church he was being threatened by the people he was working with. He claimed he was shot at while driving down Highway 55 last June and needed money for security at his St. Paul Home. According to the complaint, Piepenbrink was reimbursed for expenses ranging from bullet proof glass to a gun.
“I probably should decline to say anything about that. There were certainly security issues, “ said Piepenbrink.
Dakota County Prosecutor Jim Backstrom said he can’t remember the last time he filed criminal charges against someone in the ministry.
“It is a rare occurrence when charges are filled against someone in the ministry,” said Backstrom. “It's our obligation to pursue charges regardless who is involved.”
Shepherd of the Hills is part of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church Synod (WELS), which is the third largest Lutheran Church in the Country. In a statement, the church told FOX 9 the case was a "unique and isolated incident in which someone had direct access to synod funds without proper protocols and oversight."
Piepenbrink said he’s confident the charges will be resolved and he looks forward to continuing his more than 25 years doing ministry work.
‘It's still my church. It's still my church and I want to do right by them,” he said. “I want to settle whatever we need to settle on this.”
“The facts will come out on that,” Pienpenbrink said. “There were some differences as far as accounting and so forth and so, we'll take care of this.”
Dakota County prosecutors filed theft by swindle charges against Piepenbrink, who is accused of stealing more than $100,000 from the Shepherd of the Hills Church in Inver Grove Heights.
Pienpenbrink worked at the church for five years where his primary role was as the Hmong Ministry Coordinator.
Investigators say Piepenbrink told his church he was being threatened by the people he was working with. He claimed he was shot at while driving down Highway 55 last June and needed money for security at his St. Paul Home. According to the complaint, Piepenbrink was reimbursed for expenses ranging from bullet proof glass to a gun.
“I probably should decline to say anything about that. There were certainly security issues, “ said Piepenbrink.
Dakota County Prosecutor Jim Backstrom said he can’t remember the last time he filed criminal charges against someone in the ministry.
“It is a rare occurrence when charges are filled against someone in the ministry,” said Backstrom. “It's our obligation to pursue charges regardless who is involved.”
Shepherd of the Hills is part of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church Synod (WELS), which is the third largest Lutheran Church in the Country. In a statement, the church told FOX 9 the case was a "unique and isolated incident in which someone had direct access to synod funds without proper protocols and oversight."
Piepenbrink said he’s confident the charges will be resolved and he looks forward to continuing his more than 25 years doing ministry work.
‘It's still my church. It's still my church and I want to do right by them,” he said. “I want to settle whatever we need to settle on this.”
Read more: Minister in Theft Case Speaks with FOX 9 http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/minnesota/minister-in-theft-case-speaks-with-fox-9-may-4-2011#ixzz1LUC0fKEV
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GJ - Actually, I can think of many WELS church workers arrested or caught in crimes: Ed Werner (molesting girls in his parish); Scott Zerbe (affair with a minor girl in vicarage, Fred Adrian, supervisor); Al Just (murdering his wife in bed with a steak knife); William Tabor (his mistress killed his wife, but he moved to a new call; the WELS presidium should have been arrested for felony obstruction of justice); Worship Professor James Tiefel (drunk driving, conviction overturned). A staffer at Michigan Lutheran Seminary was skimming the tuition money while people marveled at how well he lived on such a tiny salary; a Columbus pastor tried to mate his car with a telephone pole, DUI, but this was kept secret from everyone.
Frank Sinatra was once arrested for adultery (The Smoking Gun), but WELS promotes pastors caught in adultery, from lowly parish pastor to mission counselor. When Gurgle was confronted by a journist about this practice, he went around saying, "Do you tell him?" One of those pastors said, "Did you tell the journalist?"
Does that sound like a denial to you Ichabodians?
6 comments:
Don't forget about Pastor Zak in Fond du Lac who was arrested for stealing $10,000 from his congregation.
Interesting statement:
"Investigators say Piepenbrink told his church he was being threatened by the people he was working with. "
Man, that is a loaded statement.
Was he alienating the Hmong to such an extent they wanted him dead?
If the last pastor our church had was a physician, people would have said he had a "terrible bedside manner".
Some people are just not right for the ministry.
Of course, many pastors are notoriously lousy with even the most basic mathematics and accounting skills, so this might be a "totally innocent" situation.
Hey, no steak knives involved !!!!
We got the point, Grumpy.
I find it amazing how often I hear the many Pastors aren't good with figures. Why not? Don't they cover stewardship in Sem?
Aren't they people just like us and should be held accountable?
What ever happened in this case?
I says he admitted to it. Other reports say $67,000. Where is accountability? Consequences? Was he found guilty?
Is this where our offerings are going?
I imagine that the case has not moved forward very fast. There are many delays possible from the defense side. I saw a similar case involve two years of waiting before the trial.
Google the name in Google News and check on details. Post a Google alert for any new items on that search.
The students tell me half the Martin Luther College faculty has an alert on their names, in case they show up on Ichabod.
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