Feb 11, 2021
While the long process of receiving justice for the thousands of Catholics who live in the Diocese of Steubenville moved another step closer to being resolved Monday, there are still questions that must be answered.
A big step in that direction happened Monday, when David Franklin, the former comptroller of the diocese, entered into a plea deal in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court.
The list of illegal activities committed by Franklin is long, and includes falsification, theft of funds and the defrauding of creditors. And for all of that, Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge Michelle Miller sentenced the 69-year-old Franklin to 18 months in state prison and ordered him to pay $532,115 in restitution. The first 366 days of his sentence will be spent in federal prison, time he received in July after admitting to embezzling nearly $300,000 during a nine-year period that started in 2008.