Church donation drive doesn't add up for police

May 23, 2012

A man who was arrested for soliciting donations without a permit in January has again knocked on some doors in Wauwatosa, seeking donations for a church with an uncertain background.

According to a Wauwatosa Police Department report, the 61-year-old Milwaukee man was asking for money in the 100 block of North 86th Street to support Milwaukee Restoration Church at 7:37 p.m. May 11.

When confronted by police, the man acknowledged his prior arrest but said the head of the church, a 50-year-old Milwaukee man, had gotten permission from an employee at City Hall to solicit in Wauwatosa. He estimated he took in $1,000 per day.

He told police that his supervisor had driven him to Tosa and was working on his vehicle in the 500 block of Pleasant View Street. He, too, said he had gotten approval to solicit within the city but didn't have a permit.

Police discovered the church doesn't have a parent organization or higher church and it isn't listed as a nonprofit organization with the IRS. When questioned by police, the head of Milwaukee Restoration Church couldn't remember when he had been ordained as a pastor.

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