A man who served as a groundskeeper for the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay got a tough sentence for taking a guitar out of a deceased man's casket. For the alleged theft, the man was sentenced to a year in jail and to perform 80 hours of community service for each of the next three years. Those were conditions of four years' probation.

Staff members at the cemetery had alerted authorities last year that the instrument was missing. It was apparently found at the man's home. He reportedly admitted to taking the $2,000 electric guitar from the casket of a deceased musician. He was arrested in September and was later charged with a felony, to which he pleaded no contest.

He was also fired from his position as groundskeeper. The guitar was returned to the family last September.

Not surprisingly, the deceased man's family was upset, noting that they were stressed after the incident. They said the man loved instruments and looked peaceful with his guitar.

The 40-year-old man who was convicted of the crime, who had worked for the Catholic Diocese for 18 years, had no criminal record. His attorney noted that he has a love for fine musical instruments and was afraid the instrument would be ruined and never played again.

According to the Green Bay Press Gazette, the man apologized to the family, noting that he was ashamed, and said, "All I wanted to do was keep the guitar from being destroyed. I traded in my professionalism for my idealism."

Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette, "Bellevue man gets jail, probation for stealing guitar from casket," Hannah O'Brien, Jan. 31, 2012