NA WA O!!!

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN - The Rev. Robert Chukwu shook hands and mingled in the courtroom before his name was called to the defense table.

The Catholic priest stared forward and pressed his lips together for most of today's preliminary hearing in Crawford County Circuit Court as the district attorney began to lay out the felony theft case accusing him of stealing about $200,000 from two Crawford County parishes and the Diocese of La Crosse.

Chukwu, who wore his collar to court, stood mute to the charge after he was bound over for trial. The case is set for an April 7 status hearing.

Chukwu, who had been assigned to St. Mary's Catholic Church in Gays Mills and St. Phillip's Catholic Church in Soldiers Grove, sent money to priests, a nun, a school and family in Nigeria between Jan. 1, 2007, and Dec. 31, 2009, according to the complaint. He holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Nigeria.

"I've never seen an oversees investment before," diocesan clergy liaison the Rev. Joseph Hirsch testified.

Chukwu, 59, spent $6,000 in 2008 to buy and mail a 40-foot container filled with $100,000 in artificial flowers, candlesticks, pedestal tables and other merchandise to Nigeria for profit, the complaint stated. Chukwu already spent $50,000 filling another shipment.

"The flood money was probably the primary source," Hirsch testified.

See Tuesday's Tribune or check back at www.lacrossetribune.com for more on this story.


http://www.lacrossetribune.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_24dc635c-1a8f-11df-8b7a-001cc4c002e0.html