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Man Charged In Church Burglaries

SCRANTON — A man from Scranton has been charged with stealing dozens of valuable and religious items from two priests in Lackawanna County. Brian Rush has...
burglary brian rush

SCRANTON -- A man from Scranton has been charged with stealing dozens of valuable and religious items from two priests in Lackawanna County.

Brian Rush has been charged with stealing before, and his victim has always been the Catholic Church.

Rush was arraigned Wednesday on two burglaries that happened in 2014 and 2013 at two different parish rectories at churches on opposite ends of Lackawanna County. Police were able to connect the two and eventually tracked down Rush using the Internet. According to court papers, Rush sold many of the stolen items on eBay.

"I have no comment," Rush said.

Brian Rush of Scranton faced a magistrate for burglaries he allegedly committed in 2014 and 2013 at St. Eulalia's Church near Elmhurst and St. Pio Chapel in Dalton.

Fr. Thomas Petro is rector of the chapel in Dalton. Even though it's been a year and a half, he remembers the day clearly.

"It was Sunday; I was celebrating 11 a.m. mass at St. Patrick's in Nicholson, and upon my return to the rectory, I discovered that the back door had been pried open and noticed that a number of items, including religious items, had been stolen from my residence," Fr. Petro recalled.

In all, 34 items were stolen from the rectories of the two churches. They include expensive watches, cuff links, gold crosses and some very valuable religious items.

"One of them is a relic that is believed to be a fragment from the cloak that St. Joseph wore."

That relic, Fr. Petro says, is one of the stolen items that may have been sold over the Internet. Police tracked down Rush because they saw some of the priests' missing items for sale on eBay.

Rush has been accused of stealing from Catholic priests in the past. In 2007, Rush was charged after he posed as a priest and bought groceries and gift cards using a parish account for a church in Luzerne County. He was also accused of trying to extort money from a priest at a church in West Pittston.

Church leaders say Rush tried to be a priest himself but never completed seminary.

Rush hasn't ever explained the root of his bad blood with the church, and when he left court, he said he had no comment. He was released without bail after being arraigned in downtown Scranton.

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