This Week In Holy Crimes

Over the last seven days...

Uruguay: Bishop Francisco Domingo Barbosa Da Silveira resigns after being blackmailed for hiring male prostitutes. The Vatican has accepted his resignation.
Louisiana: Pastor Keith Bertrand Cowart charged with bank fraud for charging $74K to credit cards he had opened in the name of his church.
Indiana: Pastor Vaughn Reeves and his sons arrested for stealing $6M from congregants in church construction Ponzi scheme.
Texas: Pastor Steve Richardson sentenced to 17 years in prison for trafficking kiddie porn from his church's computers.
Florida: Youth Pastor Jacob Allen Morris arrested for molesting 8 year-old girl.
Tennessee: Youth Pastor Randall Thomas Hollifield arrested for child rape.
Kentucky: Pastor John Edward Smith arrested for texting 13 year-old girl to lure her for sex.
Indiana: Pastor Curtis White III arrested for cocaine trafficking. Charges include selling crack to members of his congregation.
Louisiana: Pastor Barry Weldon Thomas arrested for shooting two men with a semi-automatic weapon.
New Jersey: Christian "faith-based" military youth camp superintendent Steven Baryla arrested for distributing child pornography.

This week's winner:
Georgia: Televangelist Creflo Dollar is being sued for fraud and misappropriation of trade secrets. He is accused of stealing an idea to sell daily scriptural messages sent via text message to subscribers who pay $4.99/month. The service currently grosses $50M annually. Dollar is known for his prosperity gospel, a "religious teaching that God desires material prosperity for those he favors." The U.S. Senate Committee On Finance is currently investigating Dollar and other televangelists for enriching themselves on donations from their followers. Dollar is refusing to comply with requests to submit financial disclosure forms.