Artemio Calderon (left) and Jarrell Patterson, two security guards with Monterrey Security are arrested after allegedly stealing up to $100K in cash collections from Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral Church.
Two security guards have been arrested after allegedly stealing up to $100,000 in cash collections from Chicago based church, ‘Holy Name Cathedral Church’.
The men’s arrest follows, Jarrell Patterson, 22, and Artemio Calderon, 25, being caught on video allegedly using a key to enter the church several times and unlocking a safe containing the cash bounty.
The two men worked for Monterrey Security, which solely managed security for the church, for the past six years.
They were charged Sunday with one felony count each of burglary, police said.
Police believe the men stole somewhere in the vicinity between $88,000 and $100,000 in collections, as detectives continue to ascertain the exact amount taken.
Notice of the missing sums came after an audit revealed weekend collections ‘being off,’ told a church spokeswoman via the Chicago Tribune.
The church was expected to rake in about $40,000 a week — or $2 million a year — but was recording shortfalls of between $15 and $5,000, according to its website.
‘While researching a shortfall in offertory collections, the leadership of Holy Name Cathedral discovered evidence of repeated criminal trespass at the Cathedral offices,’ the Rev. Gregory Sakowicz told parishioners in an April 24 email.
The donations are collected in baskets during Mass, transferred to a sealed bag and kept in a locked room before being deposited at a bank.
On the night of April 15, a church worker reported seeing two men in the area of the church not open to the public, a police report said.
The men were caught on surveillance entering that same area six times between April and March and using a keypad to go inside a locked room.
Patterson was fired in January while Calderon was still employed at the time of the police report.
‘When it was brought to our attention by our client that a security guard allowed an unauthorized person into an unauthorized area of the building, we terminated him immediately,’ Monterrey said in a statement. ‘We have zero tolerance for the breaching of any protocols and will take immediate steps to remedy them.’
Artemio Calderon and Jarrell Patterson arrest leads to immediate changes:
Notice of the men’s arrest led to parishioners attending Mass Monday morning expressing disappointment while willing to forgive.
“Our pope asks us to forgive and our pope asks us to pray for people who have evil in their heart and do that for the church. It is disappointing, but the disappointment has to be alleviated by our own forgiveness,” said Eileen Quinn Knight, a parishioner via abc7chicago.
While another parishioner, Will Wilson reflected, ‘To find out that the security guards were the ones who were ripping us off…yeah that’s a little disconcerting, but I’m glad they caught them’.
Not willing to forgive though was the rector of Holy Name who has since announced the contract with Monterrey has been canceled. ‘We have moved forward with our efforts to strengthen our security procedures,’ said the Rev. Greg Sakowicz.
The church, which is under nonstop camera surveillance, is the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, one of the largest Roman Catholic dioceses in the country.
