Convicted Connecticut Pastor Dies in Prison

The Rev. Michael Jude Fay, the longtime pastor who stole more than $1 million from St. John Church in Darien, died Saturday in a Butner, N.C., federal prison. He was 10 months into a 37-month sentence for the theft.

The Diocese of Bridgeport is not releasing any details on the death, but Fay was known to be suffering from prostate cancer.

In May 2006, it was discovered Father Fay was using church money to support a lavish lifestyle, which included trips to Europe, the Caribbean and other parts of the United States.

More than a year later, Fay pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of money obtained by fraud. Father Fay and his attorneys asked the judge not to send him prison, saying he would die there.

Fay was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than a million dollars in restitution.