"Meth Priest" Pleads Not Guilty

Connecticut's now-infamous "meth priest" entered a not guilty plea yesterday before a federal court.

"My gosh, Father, for your first involvement in the criminal justice system, you picked a real doozy," Judge Smith told Wallin, who was not wearing his priestly garb, but sported an orange jump suit at least two sizes too big. "The drug involved is very deadly. It has the capacity of destroying a person's mind ... it is so much worse than heroin ... than cocaine."  The offenses carry a mandatory 10-year prison term with a maximum of life upon conviction, Caruso said. "On the scale of federal drug offenses this is about as serious as it gets," he said. "Our evidence is very, very strong. There were six controlled purchases by an undercover police officer ... a wiretap for 30 days in which the nature of the calls is very explicit and left little to the imagination in terms of quantity and dollar amounts."  Just as important, Caruso said, is the "bulk quantity of methamphetamine divided into prepackaged quantities" found during a search of Wallin's second-floor apartment at 22 Golden Hill St., Waterbury. The investigation also exposed Wallin's propensity for cross-dressing and engaging in sexual activity with men in his rectory room at St. Augustine's Cathedral in Bridgeport.

The above-linked article notes that Wallin is still being paid by the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport.