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NYC Catholic Priest Accused of Swindling Elderly Parishioner, bought home at Jersey Shore
ABC news ^ | 07.13.04

Posted on 07/13/2004 8:55:25 PM PDT by Coleus

Catholic Priest Accused of Swindling Elderly Parishioner

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By Lisa Colagrossi
(Upper East Side-WABC, July 13, 2004)A Manhattan priest is facing a major lawsuit today. He is accused of using his spiritual influence to swindle an elderly parishioner out of nearly half a million dollars.

 

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Eighty-eight year old Rose Pale was a devoted parishioner. She attended mass every day. The lawsuit says the monsignor at Saint John The Martyr Church on the Upper East Side betrayed her trust.

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The lawsuit says that Monsignor John Wolsey had Pale sign over $495,000 dollars in cash and stocks over three years. He also advised her on her stock portfolio, convincing her to drop her broker of 20 years and use his brokerage firm. All the while, he allegedly told Pale not to tell family and friends.

The suit alleges Wolsey received $100,000 dollars for a Jersey Shore condo. It also says that he took church donations and used them for personal use.

Pale died last year and the executive of her state is trying to recoup some of those funds back into her estate. So far, the archdiocese has no comment.



TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: New Jersey; US: New York
KEYWORDS: catholiclist; catholicpriest; crook; eastside; elderabuse; fatherflimflam; frrolex; johnwolsey; monsignor; monsignorjohnwolsey; nyc; priest; revrolex; rolex; thief; worldsworstcrooks
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To: ArrogantBustard
< Belch >

Excuse me.

21 posted on 07/14/2004 1:21:02 PM PDT by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilisation is aborting, buggering, and contracepting itself out of existence.)
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To: Coleus

It's amazing to me how many of these priests are able to afford beach homes at the Jersey Shore, or in Long Island. This is the fourth priest I can think of, who got into trouble for other reasons, where this info came out about them. In the other cases I'm talking about, the priests molested their victims at their beach homes. So much for those vows of chastity and poverty.


22 posted on 07/14/2004 1:28:51 PM PDT by NYCVirago
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To: ArrogantBustard
This year, thanks to my new job's demands of working the occasional weekend, I am taking the season off as a performer.

I'm a Tarot reader this year; my boss (who was a barbarian with me) will let me take off there and come to my real job if needed.

This season, I shall be Catriona McKechnie, the Scottish Soothsayer of Clan McKechnie. I'm gonna rat up my hair every morning, put some twigs and leaves in it, and sprinkle Scotch on myself. Then I'll mutter furiously in Scots, coming up occasionally to tell my querents something in what sounds like English.
23 posted on 07/14/2004 1:39:37 PM PDT by Xenalyte (I'm thinkin' of a master plan . . .)
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To: Xenalyte
sprinkle Scotch on myself.

I trust that you shall use some cheap blend for that purpose?

24 posted on 07/14/2004 1:59:15 PM PDT by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilisation is aborting, buggering, and contracepting itself out of existence.)
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To: Coleus

My parents' parish ...


25 posted on 07/14/2004 2:10:28 PM PDT by eastsider
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To: ArrogantBustard
Aye, indeed, 'twould be a sin to use 17-year-old single-malt for sprinklin'.

The Glenmorangie and the Macallen are for drinkin' . . . the Heaven Hill is for perfumin'.
26 posted on 07/14/2004 2:18:34 PM PDT by Xenalyte (I'm thinkin' of a master plan . . .)
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To: Notwithstanding

Thank you for putting this story into perspective.


27 posted on 07/14/2004 2:19:41 PM PDT by M007
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To: richmwill; .45MAN; AAABEST; AKA Elena; al_c; american colleen; Angelus Errare; annalex; Annie03; ...
I'll bet we see no "Catholic Ping!"'s on this thread. Another shining moment for the Catholic church.

Its primarily conservative Catholics who post these kinds of threads since the homopriest scandal broke, including this one, schmuck! No one on this Forum wants the rot in Christ's Church excised more than us faithful Catholics.

So this "Catholic Ping!"'s for you, chump.

28 posted on 07/14/2004 3:36:58 PM PDT by Polycarp IV (PRO-LIFE orthodox Catholic - -without exception, without compromise, without apology. Any questions?)
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To: Polycarp IV

How does modern America manage to produce such theological illiteracy?


29 posted on 07/14/2004 3:38:57 PM PDT by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: Polycarp IV

An American criminal - from modern America - impersonating a Catholic priest is not an example of "The Catholic Church" doing anything wrong. How banal - all for a condo in Jersey. Good grief!


30 posted on 07/14/2004 3:42:12 PM PDT by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity

What about post # 7?


31 posted on 07/14/2004 3:42:43 PM PDT by Polycarp IV (PRO-LIFE orthodox Catholic - -without exception, without compromise, without apology. Any questions?)
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To: Polycarp IV

The facts will come out one way or another.


32 posted on 07/14/2004 3:45:51 PM PDT by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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Comment #33 Removed by Moderator

To: richmwill

I'll bet we see no "Catholic Ping!"'s on this thread. Another shining moment for the Catholic church."

Catholics ping each other to these articles about deviants in our midst more so than they do to positive ones. You obviously don't come around much.

34 posted on 07/14/2004 4:15:48 PM PDT by AAABEST (Lord have mercy on us)
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To: Coleus

Msgr. Woolsey is not the only NY area priest to be guilty of such conduct. This is nothing new. However Cardinal Edward (fast eddie) Egan is showing thta he certainly has on big pair of cahones to claim that Woolsey is an "independant contractor". And Donohue should be ashamed of himself. But while other past situations never came to light, at least here the reletives and attorney's had the guts to complain!
Under the religious incorporation laws of the State of New York, a parish is a non profit corporation with a five man board of trustees: President - the Cardinal Archbisop of New York; Vice President - the Vicar General of the Archdiocese; Secretary - the pastor; and two lay trustees nominated by the pastor and approved by the Archbishop. In practise, the secretary of the corporation - the pastor - acts in locus of the Archbishop to operate the worldly corporate/fiscal afairs of the parish
So, while Woolsey may by guilty of malfeasance (along with other crimnal charges), Egan may be guilty of criminal negligence as well as misfeasance.
If these charges can be brought to bear in court, Egan may well be toast!
Independant contractors indeed!!!!!


35 posted on 07/14/2004 4:24:17 PM PDT by thor76 (Vade retro, Draco! Crux sacra sit mihi lux!)
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To: Incorrigible
Some may have a problem with it but quite frankly, this has provided the Church with a lot of religious value. I can think of rectories, retreat houses and college campus buildings that were all received from weathly widows.

If Woolsey had built a retreat house, there wouldn't be any issue here.

Diocesan priests don't take vows of poverty, but stuffing a half-million dollars under your rabat for your own use is a shabby thing for a priest to do.

Archbishop Myers of Newark turned a retreat house INTO a second residence for himself, to the tune of $500,000 of diocesan money for the refurbishment.

No vows broken, but it just looks very unseemly for men who are following Him who had nowhere to lay His Head to be living like CEOs.

Lots of priests console themselves for their vow of celibacy by indulging themselves in material things. A Jesuit priest (Fr. Shaughnessy?) wrote a very sharp critique of this behavior, along with a stinging rebuke of priests who break their vow of celibacy. It's been posted here.

36 posted on 07/14/2004 4:31:11 PM PDT by sinkspur (There's no problem on the inside of a kid that the outside of a dog can't cure.)
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To: richmwill

It was a Catholic who posted the thread in the first place. Sheesh!


37 posted on 07/14/2004 4:33:49 PM PDT by BlessedBeGod
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To: thor76
So, while Woolsey may by guilty of malfeasance (along with other crimnal charges), Egan may be guilty of criminal negligence as well as misfeasance.

Likely neither of them will be found guilty in a civil trial, much less charged in a criminal trial.

That said, Catholics seem to give Father a pass when it comes to driving new cars, going to the racetrack, eating at Five Star restaurants and vacationing in Europe, because, well, "Father gave up a wife." I've heard people say that.

And, guess what? Few diocesan priests are actually poor, and few act as if they are.

38 posted on 07/14/2004 4:36:46 PM PDT by sinkspur (There's no problem on the inside of a kid that the outside of a dog can't cure.)
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To: Notwithstanding; Incorrigible

Let's hope it's all a big misunderstanding.


39 posted on 07/14/2004 4:57:33 PM PDT by Coleus (Abraham Lincoln was a trial lawyer.)
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To: NYCVirago

Diocesan priests don't take a vow of poverty.


40 posted on 07/14/2004 6:22:41 PM PDT by ELS
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