The head priest at Trinity Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh faces a preliminary hearing later this month on charges he stole more than $1,000 worth of baseball cards in February.
The Very Rev. Aidan E. Smith, 42, of Ambridge was charged with retail theft and receiving stolen property. Smith was arrested Feb. 27 by Economy police shortly after leaving the borough’s Walmart, where they found 27 packs of baseball cards under his clothing and in a cardboard box.
Economy Police spoke with a member of Walmart’s asset protection department at the store, who showed them security footage of Smith coming into the store on five consecutive days starting Feb. 23, and taking between $200 and $260 worth of baseball cards each day.
The Right Rev. Ketlen Solak, Episcopal bishop of Pittsburgh, announced Sunday that Smith — who had been on administrative leave since late January — would be placed on suspension. Solak said that was in keeping with the church’s Title IV canons, which sets forth its process for handling clergy misconduct.
Smith was released on bail Feb. 28. A preliminary hearing initially scheduled for Thursday was continued to Thursday, March 26.
An attorney for Smith listed in court records could not be reached for comment. Church officials declined comment, other than referencing a letter Solak sent to church members.
“I have spoken with Aidan and assured him of our prayers for him in this difficult time,” Solak wrote in the letter. “Please pray for Aidan, (his wife) and their children, for the entire cathedral congregation as we grieve this news, and for everyone involved in this hard situation.”