A former Rapid City priest convicted of stealing almost $260,000 from local parishes will not see a lighter sentence or a reduced restitution amount even though a federal appeals court reversed three of his 65 convictions.
Marcin Garbacz, 43, worked as a high school chaplain in the Catholic Diocese of Rapid City and resided at three different parishes in the city between 2012 and 2018, according to court documents. During that time, he stole $260,000 from donations to three different parishes.
A jury convicted Garbacz of wire fraud, money laundering, transporting stolen money, and making and subscribing false tax returns. He was sentenced to seven years and nine months in prison and ordered to pay more than $300,000 in restitution.
In December 2021, Garbacz appealed his case to the United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. He claimed that there was not sufficient evidence to prove the 65 counts and appealed an enhancement that was applied to his crimes claiming he carried them out through sophisticated means.
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Garbacz also claimed the government should not have taken two statues that he bought for $12,500 and $14,000 and challenged the restitution he was ordered to pay.
Court documents state he bought the statues to hide the money he had stolen and fabricated engraving to make them appear to be gifts. The statues were among other expensive items Garbacz purchased using the stolen money, including chalices. Garbacz’s annual salary as a priest ranged from $20,000 to $24,000 during his time working for the diocese.
The court ordered him to pay back the $260,000, which would be split three ways between the three parishes he stole from. Garbacz was also ordered to pay $46,000 to the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid taxes since he never reported the stolen money as income.
The federal appeals court reversed three of his 50 wire fraud counts that involved the transfer of funds.
“No reasonable jury could find that these actions furthered a fraudulent cause,” a circuit judge wrote in the opinion responding to Garbacz’s appeal. “Once the cash was securely in the credit union account, the danger that it would expose Garbacz’s scheme to fellow priests was eliminated. Unlike the cash deposits, Garbacz used the transfers to pay off debt, not keep suspicions at bay.”
The court did not adjust his sentence because the sentences for those three counts were to run concurrently with the other counts. They upheld the lower courts’ ruling on all other counts and did not change the amount Garbacz is required to pay back.
Garbacz argued in his appeal that the amounts were based on the finding that all the money deposited was stolen. He argued that priests receive cash tips for their services.
“Garbacz served as a school chaplain and would not have received a significant amount in tips,” the appeals court opinion said.
Garbacz’s stealing was discovered after suspicions arose at St. Therese the Little Flower Catholic Church in Rapid City, and a bookkeeper started using tamper-proof bags for cash donations. The serial numbers began to change without apparent reason.
The bookkeeper and pastor installed cameras the next month, and Garbacz was caught on video stealing cash. He brought tamper-proof bags with him that he would swap out and write information on them in an attempt to match the original handwriting.
He admitted to local law enforcement that he stole from parishes and described his method of replacing the tamper-proof bags. Throughout the years, Garbacz deposited the stolen money into a credit union account in South Dakota and purchased various items.
Garbacz attempted to flee to his home country of Poland after the IRS began to investigate his crimes and he was arrested at the airport on May 19, 2019. His search history showed inquiries about moving to Poland and withdrawing cash “without triggering the IRS” and storing money in offshore accounts.
According to Journal archives, Garbacz apologized to parishioners during his November 2020 sentencing but not to the priests he served with, the former bishop he served under or the diocese.
In a separate case, Garbacz pleaded guilty to engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place. An Federal Bureau of Investigation agent discovered child pornography on one of Garbacz’s thumb drives during the financial crimes investigation, according to an August 2019 affidavit for a search warrant.
According to a new release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Garbacz took a video of a nude minor while traveling to his home country of Poland and possessed the recording on an electronic device. Garbacz was sentenced on March 11 to five years in prison.
A charge of witness tampering was added in March 2021 for trying to "intimidate, threaten and corruptly persuade" a witness in a letter sent on Jan. 8, 2021.
It is unclear where Garbacz will serve his sentences. Court documents show Garbacz was committed to the custody of the United States Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
Garbacz's defense attorney in his sex crimes case said Gorbazc is being transported at the moment, so his location will be kept confidential by federal law enforcement until he has reached his destination.
