ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA (WAFB) -
A church
minister pleaded no contest Thursday to felony theft after being accused of
stealing from his own church.
Reverend
George Veal, along with seven others, is accused of illegally transferring tens
of thousands of dollars from a nonprofit to the Union Bethel Family Church in
St. Francisville and into private hands back in 2010.
Until Veal
entered the plea, he had been scheduled for trial next week.
Detectives also
arrested Oliver Wingfield, an East Feliciana Parish School Board member; John
Cobb, a West Feliciana Parish police juror; Carol Cobb, his wife; Louisa Jones,
his mother-in-law; John Perry and David DeLoach.
Detectives
said Veal and Wingfield ran a nonprofit organization in Clinton, which burned
down in 2008. The two then donated $80,000 in insurance money to the St.
Francisville church. Sometime after, church members were told their account was
overdrawn by $11,000. It is believed they passed checks among themselves,
moving money through several accounts.
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