LAKE COUNTY >> A dispute over the amount of money a former pastor who pleaded guilty to stealing from his church must pay continued Tuesday afternoon at the Lake County Courthouse.
During the hearing, both sides revealed what they think the fair amount of restitution should be.
Bruce Stark, 63, and his attorney Thomas Quinn said in court they believe the appropriate amount Stark should pay the Clearlake Apostolic Church is about $22,000.
“That”s a huge gap from what probation thinks,” Lake County Judge Andrew S. Blum said.
Blum added that a probation report states Stark should pay the church roughly $144,000, of which approximately $91,000 derive from unauthorized checks.
During the last two hearings, the defense and prosecution have been disputing scores of checks, loans made to the church and other purchases involving the church and Stark.
Stark maintains he had authority to write checks and that he used money from the church to cover church debt and reimburse himself for expenses he said he made related to the church. Other church members disagree.
Pastor Frank Lenard, Secretary Gloria Turner and former Secretary Carol Ann Powell have said in court that many of the checks Stark made during his time as pastor were not authorized. They said that, apart from certain bills, all expenses had to be approved by the church board, and that many of Stark”s expenses were not.
On Monday, Blum said Stark needed to challenge individual allegations of fraudulent checks if he hoped the restitution amount would be lowered to what Stark thinks is fair.
“The assumption right now is that these (checks) are not authorized,” Blum said.
Quinn said he would provide the court with a list of the alleged fraudulent checks Stark is challenging.
During the hearing, the defense brought one new witnesses to the stand and recalled Stark for further testimony.
Cheryl Walker, the daughter of the pastor who served the church before Stark, echoed much of the testimony Stark had given during previous hearings.
Walker said that during her mother”s time as pastor, her mother didn”t need approval from the church board to reimburse herself for expenses related to the church. She said that Stark had authority to write checks against the church”s bank account, even those unrelated to the regular bills the church paid.
She also added, as Stark previously testified, that Stark paid out-of-pocket for at least one church event that involved roughly 300 people and that he gave Lenard money during Lenard”s daughter”s 16th birthday party. Stark previously testified he gave Lenard $126, but Walker said in court it was $300.
During previous testimony, Lenard said he was not aware Stark paid for any church events out-of-pocket and that he never received money from Stark as Stark previously testified.
After consulting with the victims, Deputy District Attorney Sharon Lerman-Hubert decided not to cross-examine Walker or Stark.
Judge Blum scheduled a hearing for Friday to review the written statement challenging specific accusations of fraudulent checks Quinn was asked to submit to the court.
Stark pleaded guilty in January to theft and embezzlement charges stemming from allegations that he stole tens of thousands of dollars in funds and property from the church while he was a pastor from 2002 to 2008. He was sentenced in mid-February to three years in state prison and ordered to pay restitution.
He currently awaits the conclusion of court proceedings in custody at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Contact Isaac Brambila at 900-2020.
