AGENTS SAY PRIEST SOLD, MADE DRUGS

Cleric Allegedly Helped Make GHB

SHEFFIELD, Ill. - A 31-year-old Roman Catholic priest known as "Father
Jeff" was arrested at the old red-brick church he leads in this little farm
town and charged with helping to make and distribute the "date rape drug."

Documents filed in U.S. District Court in Davenport, Iowa, name Jeffery J.
Windy, a priest at St. Patrick's Church in Sheffield and St. Margaret
Mary's in nearby Wyanet, Ill. Also charged were two Iowa men, Tim O'Brien
and Bradley Bush. The three allegedly made gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB,
by the gallon at O'Brien's Davenport home, according to court records.

In a sworn affidavit by an agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration, O'Brien is quoted describing Windy as "a very crooked
priest" who supplied the main ingredient and "was constantly asking" how to
make the drug.

Eventually he learned how and sold O'Brien 6 to 10 gallons of GHB that he
himself had made, court records say.

Windy's arrest Friday came as a shock to residents of Sheffield and Wyanet,
twin farming communities of about 950 people each that lie about 10 miles
apart in north-central Illinois.

"If you can't trust a priest who ministers, who can you trust?" parishioner
Sue Engels said. "He was supposed to set an example for us."

The picture of Windy that emerges in court documents stands in contrast to
his image in Sheffield and Wyanet, towns with aging populations where the
dynamic young priest seemed a godsend. In Sheffield, where more than 40
percent of the residents are 62 or older, Windy often could be seen riding
his bike through town or working out with his weight machine in his garage.
He often wore a biretta--a ceremonial, and somewhat old-fashioned, hat
sometimes worn by Roman Catholic clergy--in St. Patrick's Church.

The successor to a much older priest who retired in 1998, Windy-- ordained
in 1996--was "a breath of fresh air and youthful energy" who launched an
extensive project to renovate the church and rectory, said Frances Hughes,
a St. Patrick's parishioner in her 70s.

Mary Jo Rosenow, wife of Sheffield Mayor Bill Rosenow, said she thought
Windy was "a really nice kid, really likable."

Windy's arrest was the hot topic Tuesday at Jeri Jean's Cafe in Wyanet, a
bright, busy diner where the regulars drank coffee and shook their heads.

"What's the world coming to?" owner Jeri Jean Shofner said.Court documents
do not indicate who was buying the drugs the men allegedly made or for what
they were used. There are no indications in the court documents that the
drugs were used in sexual assaults.

Court documents do not indicate who was buying the drugs the men allegedly
made or for what they were used. There are no indications in the court
documents that the drugs were used in sexual assaults.

The affidavit mentions GHB in the context of its notoriety as a date rape
drug. But the drug also is known for stimulating muscle growth and is
sometimes used by bodybuilders. A church member in Sheffield said that
Windy lifted weights and owned a punching bag.

In a prepared statement Monday, the Catholic Diocese of Peoria said it
would "cooperate to the full extent of the law with police and federal
authorities during the investigation."

According to court records, Windy was leading a secret life apart from that
of a small-town priest. Last May a confidential source reported having seen
O'Brien and Windy make GHB three times in the preceding two months,
according to a sworn affidavit by Jon Johnson, a special agent for the DEA.

Windy allegedly provided the key ingredient necessary to make the drug, an
industrial-strength solvent called gamma butyrolactone, or GBL, that is
sometimes used in paint thinner. He bought it from a Bettendorf, Iowa,
chemical supply company. Sales records there contain the notation "Father
Jeff," the affidavit states.

According to Johnson, the men apparently manufactured GHB in multigallon
quantities. In July 2001, an undercover agent with the Iowa Division of
Narcotics bought a half gallon of GHB from O'Brien, he said. And in
October, the agent bought a gallon of GHB from O'Brien and Bush for $440.

Windy was released Tuesday to the custody of his parents, who live in Peru,
under the conditions of a $100,000 unsecured bond. His parents, Joseph and
Darlene Windy, declined to speak with a reporter at their home Tuesday
night. Windy's attorney, Doug Scovil of Rock Island, also declined to
comment, saying he does not discuss pending cases.

According to the DEA's Web site, GHB is a central nervous system
depressant. It is used for its "ability to produce euphoric and
hallucinatory states and its alleged ability to release a growth hormone
and stimulate muscle growth."