According to the indictment and evidence established during trial , Smith and Zgoznik entered into an elaborate scheme to defraud the Diocese and related organizations and to defraud the IRS . Between 1997 and 2003 , Zgoznik paid more than $ 784,000 in kickbacks to Smith in exchange for Smith 's efforts to steer work to the entities that Zgoznik controlled . As a result , the Diocese paid the entities controlled by Zgoznik more than $ 17.5 million between 1997 and 2003 . Some of the bills to the Diocese were inflated or were for services that were not needed .