Ellen F Cooke, the former national treasurer of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in the United States, has admitted stealing more than US$1.5 million from the Church.

In a court appearance in Newark, New Jersey on 24 January, Mrs Cooke, who was the Church's treasurer from November 1986 until January 1995, pleaded guilty to transferring stolen money across state lines and tax evasion. The thefts involved took place during a period of five years.

Mrs Cooke admitted in court that she had used her position to transfer Church funds into her own bank accounts and to pay expenses for her family. She also admitted that she had failed to pay tax on US$310,000 that she stole from the Church in 1993.

But Mrs Cooke said that a psychiatric disorder prevented her from recalling the crimes. An audit of Church finances by an international accountancy firm, Coopers and Lybrand, indicated that Cooke had taken US$2.2 million in a variety of ways.

Mrs Cooke, who is to be sentenced on 29 April, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of US$250,000 for the first count of transferring funds across state lines, and five years in prison and a $100,000 fine for the second count of tax evasion.

However, Episcopal News Service reports that, according to Wendy White of the law firm of Shea and Gardiner, who is representing the Episcopal Church in the case, a prison term of about three years is likely.