Mea Culpa

A confession rescues a priest

The Delaware police dubbed him the Gentleman Bandit after he had held up six Wilmington area stores last winter. Not only did he brandish a chrome-plated pistol, but he was a natty dresser who always wore a fedora and treated his victims with elaborate courtesy. He once even apologetically told a clerk, "I wouldn't do this if I didn't have to." After seven holdup witnesses picked the same man out of a police lineup last February, the authorities indicted an unlikely suspect: the Rev. Bernard T. Pagano, 53, then assistant pastor at St. Mary's Refuge of Sinners Church in Cambridge, Md.

A Roman Catholic priest for 21 years, Pagano insisted he was innocent, but failed a lie detector test. Loyal parishioners rushed to his aid and started a legal defense fund. Although Pagano had a reputation as an inspiring preacher and a dedicated community servant, he had an unorthodox life-style for a priest. While most priests reside in a rectory, Pagano lives in his own $50,000 home with a widow who he says is his half sister. He once ran a professional counseling business on the side until the church asked him to stop charging for his services. The priest's credibility was questioned when he applied for a college teaching job and listed on his resume degrees that have failed to turn up in the institutions' records. Still, Pagano seemed to have little reason to rob: he reportedly had a savings account of $20,000. The total haul of the bandit was around $700.

Last week Judge Andrew Christie made a dramatic announcement from the bench: "An individual in Pennsylvania has confessed to committing all six crimes." Ronald Clouser, 39, who closely resembles the priest despite a 14-year age difference, had already admitted committing three robberies in Pennsylvania. An industrial engineer, Clouser was on leave from his job with the U.S. Postal Service because of emotional problems. Clouser's lawyer stated that his client wanted to "exonerate Father Pagano of acts for which he was wrongly charged." Said Clouser: "Father Pagano has unjustly suffered for six months." He added: "I'm not a habitual confesser and I'm not a masochist. I just don't want to see the wrong man go to jail."

The prosecution dropped all charges against the priest. "The state extends a sincere apology to Father Pagano," said Delaware Attorney General Richard Gebelein. Yet several policemen still suspect Pagano. "I'm convinced that we had the right man," says one. "If I didn't think he did it, he wouldn't be here." The policemen point out that Clouser failed to pass a lie detector test when he declared his guilt.

After he was exonerated last week, Pagano celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving at Wilmington's St. Patrick's Church, located a few blocks from the courthouse, where the church had assigned him during his troubles. He donned white vestments and implored his congregation to "love and pray for Ron Clouser as much as you did for me."

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