Volunteer pleads guilty to stealing more than $10K from Buffalo church

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A church volunteer has pleaded guilty to charges related to stealing more than $10,000 from collection baskets at a church in Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.

Francis Winiarski, 67, stole a total of $10,699 from Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located on Amherst Street, between Aug. 1, 2023 and March 3, 2024. Winiarski pocketed cash given by parishioners during the offering.

He pleaded guilty to third-degree grand larceny. As a condition of the plea, he agreed to pay full restitution.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not a church that was affected by sweeping changes across the Buffalo Diocese, which affected dozens of area churches.

Winiarski faces a maximum of seven years in prison when he is sentenced on Dec. 19. He remains released on his own recognizance.

Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here .