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Pennsylvania couple accused of stealing $1.2M from church to pay for Walt Disney vacations, Pittsburgh Pirates tickets

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A trusted Pennsylvania church administrator and his wife stole around $1.2 million to use on a slew of personal items, including vacations, sporting events and restaurants, officials said.

David Reiter, 50, had allegedly been stealing the funds from the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair for nearly 17 years. He was employed there in 2001 as a church administrator.

The church’s head pastor, Jim Gilchrist, learned of the alleged fraud in November 2018 after discovering Reiter had impersonated an auditor.

When confronted, Reiter told Gilchrist he “needed to resign” because he did some “bad things,” according to the criminal complaint. He allegedly confessed to stealing $500,000 to $530,000 from the church over a period of 10 to 12 years “to make things better at home.”

A few days later, Reiter admitted to taking an additional $100,000 from the Early Childhood Education Programs, a separate entity located in the basement of the church, the complaint said.

Investigators later determined he nabbed closer to $1,227,423 by transferring funds from the church’s bank account into his personal one, according to the complaint.

Reiter and his wife, Connie, allegedly used the extra cash on a multitude of personal endeavors such as trips to Walt Disney and Hershey Park, music lessons for their children, restaurants, scrapbooking materials and Pittsburgh Pirates tickets.

David Reiter was charged Tuesday with 10 counts relating to theft, forgery and receiving stolen property, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office said. Connie Reiter, 44, faces two counts of receiving stolen property for allegedly taking part in more than $900,00 of that theft.

Connie Reiter posted $5,000 bail while David Reiter remained in Allegheny County jail as of Thursday afternoon. His bail was set at $50,000.

The two face a preliminary hearing on Feb. 28.

The Westminster Presbyterian Church did not immediately respond to the Daily News for comment. However, a spokesperson told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a statement the theft was “accomplished largely through electronic fund transfers.”

They also called David Reiter “a widely trusted, active member of the church” who “engaged in sophisticated forms of deception to hide his theft.”