Tiny church, huge betrayal. Treasurer charged with stealing over $225,000.

[Ian David]

Close-knit congregation reacts with shock and sadness at hearing.
By CINDY STAUFFER, Staff
Lancaster New Era
Published: Jul 20, 2007 11:56 AM EST

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa - St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod in Columbia is a close-knit small-town parish. About 35 people gather for services Sunday mornings in its peaked brick building with the gray front doors.

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When Pastor Skip, as parishioners call the church's Rev. Leonard Nizinski, called the Hines brothers into a Sunday school room after a Lenten service this spring, the family fell apart.

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Columbia Police eventually charged Paul Hines, 51, a former Columbia Borough councilman and longtime community member, with six counts of forgery and six counts of theft, saying he used his position as church treasurer to steal from St. Paul's for more than eight years.

More:
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/207124