Looks like Follieri's taking a plea,although there's still a chance he'd opt for a trial, according to the Wall Street Journal article linked to here. Quote:

Mr. Follieri was charged in June with paying for a lavish lifestyle with money from a real-estate venture with Mr. Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. The venture was supposed to capitalize on Mr. Follieri's Vatican ties to redevelop surplus Catholic Church properties. Currently in custody in New York in lieu of a $21 million bail, he could face roughly four to five years in prison under the proposed plea agreement, says a person familiar with the matter.

And towards the bottom, regarding payoffs:

Mr. Follieri's Vatican ties also allegedly involved money. The federal criminal complaint says between 2005 and 2006, Mr. Follieri sent more than $385,000 of allegedly stolen funds to unnamed Vatican recipients "in order to increase his ties" there.

Guess we'll have to just wait and see how all this plays out.