HARTFORD -- For Kenneth DeVries[1] it was his role in Msgr. Kevin Wallin[2] 's methamphetamine conspiracy that landed him a federal prison sentence Tuesday.
It's his health that has given him a death sentence.
DeVries is suffering from "stage four prostate cancer and full-blown AIDS," said J. Patten Brown III[3] , his lawyer. "His life expectancy is on the single side of ten years if not five."
DeVries, 52, who lived next door to Wallin in Waterbury, appeared frail and gaunt wearing a large bandage on the left side of his face.
"He just had emergency surgery to remove a tumor, " Brown said.
Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello took this into consideration by knocking 10 months off the lowest federal sentencing guideline recommendation and imposing a term of 27 months in prison.
DeVries, known for his leather creations, will get credit for the nine months he has spent incarcerated since his Jan. 3, 2013, arrest as part of a lengthy DEA and State Police[4] undercover investigation into the monsignor's activities.
Brown told the judge that punishment "to the leader of this conspiracy, who happens to a priest who should have been helping Mr. DeVries as a Monsignor, will have more of a deterrent effect on the population as a whole then sentencing my client to additional time in prison."
He said DeVries looked up to Wallin "as a religious leader who was supposed to help him."
Brown described Wallin as "a wolf in sheep's clothing" who "was the driving force behind this conspiracy."
Instead, Wallin took DeVries in, paid his rent in an adjacent apartment and used him to run the methamphetamine business when Wallin was away.
Wallin had told customers in the days before he was to leave on a trip to England that DeVries "would hold down the fort."
The trip never took place. DEA and State Police raided the apartments and arrested the pair just hours before Wallin was to leave the country. They later arrested Chad McCluskey[5] and Kristen Laschober[6] , Wallin's California suppliers. All four have pleaded guilty to charges. DeVries is the first to be sentenced on charges of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
A fifth man, Michael Nelson[7] , also faces charges.
While DeVries' role was limited and his health is a factor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Caruso[8] maintained "this is a very serious offense because of the devastating impact of this drug."
Methamphetamine, which gained recognition through TV's "Breaking Bad," is destructive physically and mentally.
DeVries, who previously lived in Florida and California, was known for his leather creations and worked for Leatherwright, a Richmond, Ca., sex fetish shop. He returned to Connecticut in 2004 when he and his then German partner bought a house,
Financial difficulties and the relationship's break-up led to his moving in with Wallin.
Wallin had planned to open a sex shop featuring DeVries' creations with some of the money he made.
Prior to his fall from grace, Wallin was the pastor of St. Peter's Church in Danbury[9] and St. Augustine's Cathedral in Bridgeport[10] .
He was credited with leading renovations at both churches and many felt he was bishop material.
He once served as the secretary to former Bridgeport bishops Walter W. Curtis[11] and Edward M. Egan[12] , and Wallin -- who loved musicals -- often attended plays in New York with Egan.
However, church officials and parishioners began noticing changes in Wallin. No longer was he the fastidious dresser or the glib performer who could capture their attention with a heart-wrenching homily or a stirring rendition of Broadway music.
Then St. Augustine employees began noticing strangely dressed men frequenting Wallin's room and the church rectory.
Others claimed Wallin was seen dressed in women's clothing. When his superiors sent him away on one of several medical evaluations, a bag of sex toys was found in his room.
In June 2011, Wallin was placed on sabbatical and submitted his resignation.
The following month, DEA agents in New York received information on his drug involvement and an investigation soon began using informants, wiretaps and an undercover agent.
The former priest's fall from grace soon followed.
References
- ^ Kenneth DeVries (www.ctpost.com)
- ^ Kevin Wallin (www.ctpost.com)
- ^ J. Patten Brown III (www.ctpost.com)
- ^ State Police (www.ctpost.com)
- ^ Chad McCluskey (www.ctpost.com)
- ^ Kristen Laschober (www.ctpost.com)
- ^ Michael Nelson (www.ctpost.com)
- ^ Patrick Caruso (www.ctpost.com)
- ^ Church in Danbury (www.ctpost.com)
- ^ Cathedral in Bridgeport (www.ctpost.com)
- ^ Walter W. Curtis (www.ctpost.com)
- ^ Edward M. Egan (www.ctpost.com)
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