HARTFORD, Conn., March 27 (UPI) -- A lawyer for a suspended Catholic priest charged in Connecticut with laundering drug money has filed a notice that his client intends to change his plea.
A hearing has been set for Monsignor Kevin Wallin next Tuesday in federal court in Hartford, the Hartford Courant reported.
Wallin is currently being held without bail.
He was charged in January with selling methamphetamine and laundering drug proceeds through the Land of Oz, an adult entertainment store in Waterbury.
In his years in the diocese of Bridgeport, Wallin had been personal secretary to several bishops. He was pastor of St. Augustine's in Bridgeport in 2011 when he was granted a sabbatical for "health and personal issues."
Investigators say Wallin bought methamphetamine from two Californians, Chad McCluskey, 43, of San Clemente, and Kristen Laschober, 47, of Laguna Niguel. Two Connecticut men, Kenneth DeVries, 52, of Waterbury, and Michael Nelson, 40, of Manchester, are also charged.
They have all pleaded not guilty.
