Former Virginia priest’s appeal denied; convictions upheld for embezzlement

A former Catholic priest convicted of embezzling from his churches has had his appeal denied by the Virginia Court of Appeals, according to court records.
The court agreed in October to hear the appeal of Rodney L. Rodis, who claimed that his federal convictions for mail fraud and money laundering should have prevented him from being prosecuted in Louisa County Circuit Court.
Rodis, 54, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison in February 2008 and to a 13-year active prison sentence in October for 10 felony theft counts in Louisa.
Authorities in Louisa have said the secretly married priest took more than $1 million from the collection plate and donations of two parishes, money which was destined for church upkeep and charitable purposes. Rodis wired at least $515,000 to the Philippines, where he bought multiple properties in his native country, authorities have said.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Rodis is incarcerated in a low-security federal prison in Butner, N.C. Authorities have said Rodis will begin serving his sentence out of Louisa’s courts after he completes his federal prison time.