There is a headline you don’t see very often. Unfortunately, it’s all too true. Khang Nguyen Le, 45, a Senior monk of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Southwest Louisiana, has been caught stealing $150,000 in donations from the temple to fund his blackjack habit. Le became addicted to the game when playing on secret trips to L’Auberge Casino in Lake Charles. Le would go to the casino and play roughly $10,000 at the blackjack tables every couple of days making sure to find corner tables, even hiding under them, to remain anonymous.

“Le stated that he always went to the casino alone to prevent members of the Buddhist community from knowing what he was doing,” court papers state.

“It was his practice to gamble in deserted spots in the casino to not be spotted by members of the congregation.”

This tactic has not quite proven to be successful as Le was stopped by police at LaGuardia airport on Saturday and arrested and is being held without bail. Le was traveling from Dallas where he was looking to purchase a used car.

Matthew Haggans, Assistant Brooklyn US Attorney, states: “The money was stolen for the defendant’s entertainment.”

Le will travel to Louisiana to face his charges.