Not content with allegedly taking more than $10,000 for work his masonry company never performed, an East Boston man allegedly stole $20,000 more from a Winthrop church using blank checks taken from the rectory, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.

MICHAEL BOCCHINO (D.O.B. 1/4/59) of East Boston was arraigned Nov. 18 on two counts of larceny over $250, one count of larceny under $250, and two counts of uttering a false check. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer OKeefe recommended that he be held on $5,000 cash bail; East Boston District Court Judge Roberto Ronquillo, Jr., released him on $1,000 personal surety, meaning that he could be financially liable for that amount if he does not appear for scheduled court dates.

In late 2008, Conley said, Bocchino allegedly contracted with the Holy Rosary Church to perform masonry work on the parish’s Shirley Street building. Throughout November and December of that year and continuing into 2009, the church paid him more than $10,000, but the work was never completed.

In the course of normal banking, Holy Rosary officials realized that more than a dozen other checks had been stolen, apparently from the church rectory. Those checks were made payable to Bocchino and, in some cases, the employees of his company, Bocchino Masonry. The total amount stolen is believed to be upward of $30,000.

Church officials brought this information to Winthrop Police, who made contact with the bank at which the checks had been cashed. Because many of the checks were cashed in East Boston, Winthrop Police contacted Boston Police and notified them of the alleged crimes in their jurisdiction. In the weeks and months that followed, the two agencies undertook parallel financial investigations of the theft and ultimately obtained criminal complaints in East Boston Municipal Court earlier this month.

“The great majority of contractors are honest, hardworking men and women who do the work they’re paid to do,” Conley said. “From time to time, though, we do see a small number who either pose as workmen or use the props of their trade to swindle unsuspecting consumers and homeowners. Targeting a church for this scam – and apparently going so far as to steal checks – is just appalling.”

Bocchino is represented by attorney Janet MacNab. He is expected to return to court on Dec. 21 for a pre-trial hearing, Conley said.