Priests dedicate their lives to their faith and teaching their community to live a life full of love, service, and devotion to God.
As part of their service, priests have the power to absolve people of their sins. However, one priest was nearly forced to pay for another man’s sins after police accused him of not only living a lie but being the culprit behind a string of crimes.
The Priest
In the late 1970s, a Roman Catholic priest was stationed in Cambridge, Maryland, where he was an assistant pastor at the Saint Mary’s Refuge of Sinners church. Before that, he was a chaplain at the Delaware State Hospital.
Passion and Dedication
According to all his parishioners, the 53-year-old priest was dedicated to serving others and would stop everything to help or listen to anyone struggling or going through a hard time. While saying mass, the passionate priest would often speak about love and sacrifice.
Beloved by the Parishioners
Because of his own passion and conviction, the priest’s sermons never felt like a lecture and the parishioners loved him as a result. “Most people were used to having some idiot priest yelling at them all the time. Bernie was kind and gentle,” said Fran Herron (pictured), a former priest who served as Pagano’s superior at a Wilmington church.
Leading by Example
Part of the reason he was so beloved, however, was because he taught and led by example. “He worked with kids in trouble, he worked with adults, he saved marriages,” said an acquaintance, Art Renkwitz. “Just like Robin Hood, he would always be where the people would be.”
Above and Beyond
While working as the chaplain at the Delaware State Hospital, Reverend Bernard T. Pagano was known for coming in several hours early and staying late to visit patients, talk with employees, and listen to struggling family members who needed a shoulder to cry on.
A Shoulder to Cry On
“When a patient stopped him on the grounds, no matter where he was going or what he had to do, he always had time for them,” said Mary Price, a hospital worker who also came to rely on Rev. Bernard when her husband was dying of cancer.
A Shocking Accusation
“I couldn’t have lived through those eight months without him,” said Price. “He was my crutch.” However, investigators from the Delaware State Police alleged that the 52-year-old priest wasn’t as good as the public seemed to think he was.
The Gentleman Bandit
While everyone believed Rev. Bernard Pagano was a tireless priest, the police believed Pagano was the culprit behind a string of robberies at six Wilmington, Delaware stores and a few more in Pennsylvania the previous winter committed by a man they had begun calling the ‘Gentleman Bandit.’
The Modus Operandi
According to police, the ‘Gentleman Bandit’ earned the moniker because of the way he robbed his victims. Rather than using force or violence, the man would calmly stroll into stores, pull out a small chrome-plated gun, and politely ask the clerk at the register to give him all the money.
The Community is Blindsided
“I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t have to,” the robber once said apologetically to the clerk as he robbed the store. While Pagano’s parishioners were shocked by the allegations, the police were sure they had finally caught the man behind the robberies.
The Informant
According to investigators, they had no idea who the bandit could possibly be until a woman, who was a member of a parish Pagano, served in 1972 and who claimed to be his former lover, contacted police after seeing a composite sketch of the bandit.
Character Called into Question
“I wouldn’t put [the robberies] past him,” the woman warned the police after supplying them with photographs of the priest. While they would never have suspected a priest was behind the nine robberies, they began an investigation into the priest, and what they found convinced them he was guilty.
Building a Case
Not only did three robbery victims identify Pagano as the ‘Gentleman Bandit’ through photographs, but the police discovered the priest owned an overcoat and three hats that matched the victims’ description of the robber. But that wasn’t all they found.
A Controversial Clergyman
During the investigation, the police found out that the priest had lived a slightly controversial life for a member of the clergy. Rather than live in the rectory with other priests, Pagano lived in a home that he owned along with his “sister,” although they didn’t believe the two were actually blood relatives.
The Arrest
Police also found that Pagano had lied on an application for a teaching position and ran into trouble with the church when he started offering a private counseling service for money. After arresting Pagano, he insisted he was innocent and that they had made a mistake.
Unwavering Support
Yet while in police custody, Pagano failed three polygraph tests, and eight witnesses picked him out in a police lineup. Meanwhile, parishioners back in Cambridge offered their unwavering support and even set up a legal defense fund for him.
The Defense
During the trial, Pagano and his lawyer were prepared to argue that the witnesses that identified him had been influenced as most had seen his images in the newspapers. However, they never got the chance to make their argument.
The Real Bandit
During the trial, a 39-year-old postal service employee, Ronald W. Clouser, walked into the courtroom with his lawyer, Saul H. Segan, and claimed that the police had charged the wrong man and that Rev. Bernard Pagano was innocent.
The Confession
“I have the authority to indicate Clouser has involvement in these acts that gave rise to the charges against Father Pagano,” Segan said. “Our intention is to be as helpful as possible to exonerate Father Pagano for acts in which he was wrongly charged.”
Justice Prevails
Eventually, Rev. Bernard was cleared of all charges and Clouser was charged for the robberies. “This great experience God has given men, I would go through it all again because I know that I am not alone,” Rev. Bernard said to the parishioners who never lost faith in him.
Priest Nearly Pays for Another Man’s Sins in Case of Mistaken Identity is an article from: LifeDaily