MILWAUKEE – On February 5 Milwaukee Circuit Judge M. Joseph Donald rejected the argument made by Fr. James Dokos’ lawyers that the felony theft case against him should be dropped because it was a violation of religious freedom.
Fr. Dokos, 62, of Chicago, allegedly spent more than $100,000 in trust fund money that authorities contend was to benefit Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Milwaukee. Dokos served there as pastor for two decades.
“Determining whether or not the defendant embezzled money does not require this court to appoint religious ministers, decide tenets of faith (or) interpret church doctrine…Neither (Dokos) nor the hierarchical church is more capable of determining whether or not he unlawfully retained money to which he was not entitled,” the judge said.
Fr. Dokos did submitted a doctor’s note that said he recently underwent a cardiac procedure and the judge excused raccording to court records. He has been on unpaid his current assignment as pastor of the Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Glenview, IL.
After the hearing, Patrick Knight, Fr. Dokos’s lawyer, said “We will consider our options and consult with our client and make some decisions…Obviously we took a contrary position (from the judge’s ruling).”
Prosecutor David Feiss declined to comment.
“Dokos was in charge of a trust fund established by a couple who had attended Annunciation and who left the bulk of the seven-figure fund to the church. More than $1.1 million of that trust fund was paid to the Milwaukee church, but Dokos spent other money from the fund on personal expenses, such as jewelry for his wife, the criminal complaint alleges…The priest allegedly spent thousands on shopping trips and upscale dinners, and gave monetary gifts to family members and other church leaders, court records show,” the Chicago Tribune reported.
Annunciation’s current pastor, Fr. Angelo Artemas, who formerly served at the Glenview parish, told the Tribune that he disagreed with the argument presented by Dokos.
“I was taught in seventh grade … that the First Amendment guarantees Americans the freedom to worship God as they wish to worship…I did not learn that the First Amendment gave people the right to manipulate our seniors and violate their legal trusts,” Fr. Artemas said.
George Karcazes, a retired lawyer and member at Glenview’s Sts. Peter and Paul, told the Tribune the argument of Dokos’ attorneys “simply absurd.”
“We still live in a country where the laws have to be obeyed whether you are in a church or not…By that reasoning clergy cannot be prosecuted for molesting children or failing to pay income taxes … because such things should be left to their hierarchs,” he said.
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