CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The siblings of a millionaire priest in West Virginia who lived like a pauper will each receive about $150,000 from the man's estate.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The siblings of a millionaire priest in West Virginia who lived like a pauper will each receive about $150,000 from the man's estate.
Father Anthony Wojtus died in 2007 at 77 without leaving a will or known family.
He spent his retirement in a small, nondescript home in Cedar Grove and received a modest stipend from the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese. Kanawha County tax officials were surprised when they examined Wojtus' estate and found property, cash and investments worth $2 million.
Kanawha County Chief Tax Deputy Allen Bleigh said 12 siblings have been located, all living in Poland. Another sister couldn't be found.
"We literally went through trash in his home and found things here and there and pieced it all together from that,'' he said.
Each sibling will receive a share of Wojtus' estate within the next two weeks.
About $500,000 of the estate was tied up in insurance and other existing contracts, Bleigh said.
Tax officials aren't sure where Wojtus' wealth came from but Bleigh says it appears to be legal.
"His wealth was certainly unusual,'' said Father Anthony Cincinnati, the diocese's Episcopal vicar for clergy. "Most priests do not have those kinds of resources, at least to my knowledge.''
Despite his wealth, Wojtus often begged people for money. After his death, authorities found trash piled knee-deep in his house.
"Nobody knows,'' Bleigh said. "The family didn't even believe he was living that way. His niece came in to look and she was in total disbelief.''
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The siblings of a millionaire priest in West Virginia who lived like a pauper will each receive about $150,000 from the man's estate.
Father Anthony Wojtus died in 2007 at 77 without leaving a will or known family.
He spent his retirement in a small, nondescript home in Cedar Grove and received a modest stipend from the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese. Kanawha County tax officials were surprised when they examined Wojtus' estate and found property, cash and investments worth $2 million.
Kanawha County Chief Tax Deputy Allen Bleigh said 12 siblings have been located, all living in Poland. Another sister couldn't be found.
"We literally went through trash in his home and found things here and there and pieced it all together from that,'' he said.
Each sibling will receive a share of Wojtus' estate within the next two weeks.
About $500,000 of the estate was tied up in insurance and other existing contracts, Bleigh said.
Tax officials aren't sure where Wojtus' wealth came from but Bleigh says it appears to be legal.
"His wealth was certainly unusual,'' said Father Anthony Cincinnati, the diocese's Episcopal vicar for clergy. "Most priests do not have those kinds of resources, at least to my knowledge.''
Despite his wealth, Wojtus often begged people for money. After his death, authorities found trash piled knee-deep in his house.
"Nobody knows,'' Bleigh said. "The family didn't even believe he was living that way. His niece came in to look and she was in total disbelief.''
Post a comment