Suspended priest pleads not guilty in drug probe

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut Roman Catholic priest has pleaded not guilty to federal drug charges accusing him of taking in more than $300,000 from sales of methamphetamines.

The Connecticut Post reports that 61-year-old Kevin Wallin entered the pleas Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford. Four other people have been charged in the alleged drug-selling operation that authorities say involved shipments of methamphetamine from California to Connecticut.

Wallin is the former pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Bridgeport. He resigned in 2011 citing health and personal issues and was suspended from public ministry last May by the Diocese of Bridgeport.

Federal prosecutors say Wallin sold most of the drugs out of his apartment in Waterbury from August to December and some of the transactions involved an undercover officer.