HARTFORD, Conn.—A Catholic priest in Connecticut has taken a page or five from Breaking Bad by transforming himself from a respected pastor into a successful meth dealer. The money got so good for 61-year-old Kevin Wallin that he decided to buy a local porn shop in New Haven — Land of Oz & Dorothy's Place — to launder drug money made from his bi-coastal meth distribution operation.
The good times lasted until January of this year. According to the NY Post, “Federal agents arrested Wallin on Jan. 3, and a grand jury indicted him and four other people on drug charges on Jan. 15. All are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a substance containing meth and 50 grams of actual meth, a crime that carries 10 years to life in prison upon conviction.”
Wallin and the Church have parted ways, but only relatively recently. “Wallin's last position was that of monsignor of the church's principal parish in Bridgeport, St. Augustine's,” reported the Hartford Courant. “He resigned and was granted a sabbatical in 2011 for what the diocese called ‘health and personal issues’ amid signs of increasingly odd behavior.” That's a nice way of putting it.
Wallin has reportedly now changed his plea to guilty. “Wallin's federal public defender filed notice in federal court Tuesday of the change of plea and a hearing has been scheduled for April 2, at noon, in Hartford,” reported the Courant.
Image: Kevin Wallin
