Crime & Safety

Former St. Isidore Employee to Appear in Court Thursday in Embezzlement Case

Kathleen Dake, 58, of Blackhawk, is scheduled to appear at the Martinez courthouse on Thursday to enter a plea.

A former employee, who faces five felony embezzlement charges in connection with more than $200,000 dollars missing from the church, will appear in court tomorrow to enter a plea.

Kathleen Dake, 58, a Blackhawk resident who is currently being held on $433,000 bail in Martinez, is scheduled to appear at the Martinez courthouse at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Dake was an office manager who began working at the church in 2002, according to Diocese of Oakland spokesman Mike Brown.

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According to court documents and Danville police, the charges stem from her involvement in the embezzlement from 2006 to 2010, including the use of about $220,000 in checks from the church for personal expenses.

She was put on administrative leave after an investigation into missing funds began and later fired by the church.

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Also charged in the case are former St. Isidore employee Virgilio Lukban and volunteer Evelyn Peinado, who police said are charged with taking about $360,000 from the church through fraudulent use of credit cards.

Lukban was a facilities manager who began working at the church in 2003, according to Brown.

Lukban, 46, of Danville, is being held on $134,000 bail. He entered a not guilty plea on five felony embezzlment charges and is scheduled to appear in court in Martinez on May 18.

Peinado, 64, of Alamo, put money into a trust fund to cover restitution to St. Isidore should she be found guilty, said Steve Bolen, Contra Costa County deputy district attorney.

Peinado faces three felony embezzlement charges and will return to court in Walnut Creek on June 23 to set a future court date.

A nine-month police investigation led to the arrests of Dake, Lukban and Peinado.

According to a statement issued earlier this month by the Diocese of Oakland, St. Isidore's Pastor Gerry Moran noticed discrepancies in the parish financial office that troubled him in May 2010. He then asked the parish finance committee to look into his concerns. The diocese reported the possible theft to the Danville Police Department in August.

Moran, overseen by the diocese and the parish finance committee, has hired a bookkeeper and an accounting manager for financial administration for cash receipts, disbursements, payroll and financial statement preparation, according to the statement.

The Diocese of Oakland said the organization "intends to seek restitution of the stolen funds from the perpetrators, and if necessary, financial recovery through the courts."


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