HARTFORD, Connecticut — Court records say a former Roman Catholic priest dubbed “Monsignor Meth” because he ran a meth distribution ring has failed a drug test and may have to return to prison.
The Hartford Courant reports that court documents show Former Bridgeport Diocese Monsignor Kevin Wallin recently tested positive for amphetamine at the facility where he’s been receiving treatment.
Probation officer Jose Vargas is urging the court to suspend Wallin’s supervised release.
“Mr. Wallin has rendered a positive drug test for amphetemine, failing to follow the conditions of supervised release by re-engaging in the illegal use of drugs,” Vargas wrote.
Wallin is expected to appear before Judge Alfred V. Covello on Aug. 30. His public defender didn’t immediately respond to an email on Saturday.
Wallin was sentenced to 65 months in federal prison and entered a supervised release program in November 2016.
He has failed six drug tests before but was given another chance and ordered to complete drug treatment programs.
According to the Hartford Courant, the judge did this over the objections of federal prosecutors.
Wallin had been a prominent priest in the Diocese of Bridgeport, and once served as the personal secretary to bishops Walter Curtis and future-Cardinal Edward Egan. His last position was rector of St. Augustine’s Cathedral in Bridgeport.
He was dismissed from his post in 2011, and went on sabbatical. The New York Times reported after his departure, church officials found adult pornographic videos, sexual toys and leather masks hidden in his rectory.
Fox8, a local news station, reported that after leaving the parish, he purchased an adult specialty and video store called Land of Oz that sold sex toys and adult videos.
According to his 2013 indictment, Wallin was selling nearly $9,000 of meth a week to places as far away as California.
“What he did in the end was shocking and spiraled out of our control,” Brian Wallace, a spokesman for the diocese, told the New York Times in 2013. “When we learned about it we took action immediately and forcefully, and regrettably, given how good a priest he was.”
Crux staff contributed to this report.
