Crystal Meth Priest Case Shocks After Clergyman’s Fall From Grace

The “crystal meth priest” story involving a web of intrigue and vice that snared a Connecticut clergyman continues to pique readers, as the details of the lurid tale continue to mount.

The man known as the crystal meth priest is Bridgeport’s Monsignor Kevin Wallin, described in a recent write-up as a long-respected and “towering” figure in the local Roman Catholic community. Wallace served many years in the church, but over the past few, rumors began to circulate about his appearance and potential dealings outside the holy calling that might conflict with his position as a moral authority.

Msgr. Wallin became known as the crystal meth priest when, after a sabbatical last year, his reputation began to unravel. By early 2013, the Huffington Post reports, the Catholic priest was irrevocably linked with some decidedly verboten in the Catholic Church behavior:

“Monsignor Kevin Wallin, who went on sabbatical prior to stepping down as pastor of the St. Augustine Parish in Bridgeport, Conn., in 2012, allegedly sold shipments of meth to undercover cops several times between September 2012 and January 2013 … Wallin, a long-time member of the Sacred Heart University Board of Trustees, was arrested Jan. 3. According to the New York Post, the meth Wallin sold during the undercover drug stings tested as 98.5 percent pure.”

But the steamy crystal meth priest tale didn’t stop there — the site adds that other, perhaps not illegal but certainly confession-worthy activities may have been favored by the Father, and it reports:

“New allegations include cross-dressing, having sex in the St. Augustine rectory and laundering meth profits through a North Haven sex shop called Land of Oz.”

(Is anyone else reminded of Bill Burr’s quip about leaving the Church because he felt they “party too hard” for him?)

Diocese spokesman Brian Wallace commented on the crystal meth priest and his fall from grace, saying the man once dubbed an “encyclopedia” of Catholic knowledge may have sinned, but he was a talented clergyman:

“What he did in the end was shocking and spiraled out of our control … When we learned about it we took action immediately and forcefully, and regrettably, given how good a priest he was.”

As of now, the crystal meth priest faces up to 30 years in prison on conspiracy and drug charges.