Fake Priest Who Targeted Churches Across U.S. Is Arrested, Sheriff Says

A man who impersonated a priest and called himself Father Martin to steal from churches around the United States was arrested in California this month, the authorities in Riverside County said.

The man, Malin Rostas, 45, of New York, was taken into custody on April 10 after sheriff’s deputies found a vehicle matching the description of one associated with the burglaries, according to the county sheriff in Riverside, Calif.

Mr. Rostas, the driver of the black sedan, was arrested. Investigators determined that he was the man posing as Father Martin and that he had tried to steal from a church in Moreno Valley, a city about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, the sheriff’s office said.

Mr. Rostas was booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on an outstanding burglary warrant from Pennsylvania. Additional charges were expected to be filed for the attempted church burglary in Moreno Valley, the authorities said.

Mike Flory, a lawyer listed for Mr. Rostas in court records, declined to comment on the arrest on Thursday.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said that law enforcement agencies across the United States had been on the lookout for Mr. Rostas, describing him as a serial burglar who was “using fraud and deception to commit theft.”

In October, the so-called Father Martin was dressed as a priest when he stole $500 from the rectory of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Houston, a spokeswoman for the Houston Police Department said at the time. He had claimed that he was a priest visiting from Chicago and that he had been staying in the rectory and left his keys in one of the rooms, she said.

The same man was also believed to have shown up at six other parishes in Dallas, and he had become the subject of security warnings shared among dioceses in Texas in November.

The same priest impersonator was also believed to have been active in California, Oregon and Ontario, according to memos issued last year from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The organization had alerted its members about a man who was posing as a priest and had gained access to parish offices, saying that he was “likely responsible for stealing $1,770 from a parish in Oregon.”

In New York City, the Police Department shared a photo last month of a man dressed in a dark suit and who appeared to match the description of Mr. Rostas. The department warned the public that a man who posed as a priest had gained access to the American Martyrs Roman Catholic Church in Queens, where he was said to have stolen $900 in cash from an unlocked bedroom.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation was continuing and there could be additional victims. Mr. Rostas was scheduled to appear in court on July 9 at the Riverside Hall of Justice building, according to jail records. His bond was set at $1 million, according to court records.

Alain Delaquérière contributed research.