Aretakis: Cop's story proves (Albany) diocese coverup Troy (NY) Record ^ | August 28, 2004 | Robert Cristo
A retired police officer came forward Friday with allegations that Schenectady priest Carl Urban attempted to solicit sex from him back in the late 1980s after reading recent reports of the pastor accusing attorney John Aretakis of slandering his name.
Retired Schenectady Det. Lincoln Grimm shared the details of how he allegedly crossed paths with Urban nearly 16 years ago as he walked down Broadway around midnight after completing a shift at work.
Urban has led the Church of St. Adalbert on Lansing Street for many years.
According to taped and live telephone calls through Aretakis, Grimm accused Urban of propositioning him for sex in an area of the city known to have male prostitutes circulating at night.
However, there was never any mention of a money transaction; just an offer to go back to Grimm's place for what he assumed was sex.
"He propositioned me on my way home. ... He wanted sexual activity with me," said Grimm, on tape, and made a similar statement over the phone Friday morning. "Then I identified myself as a police officer."
"I didn't arrest him, and I wanted to keep it quiet. ... I told him to contact me and he told me (the next day) his lawyer said he didn't do anything wrong," added the Albany resident.
Grimm went on to say Urban was allegedly on a police list of people known to pick up male prostitutes around City Hall in Schenectady during the '80s.
"We kept an intelligence file of people who hung out there and father was on the list," said Grimm, who retired in 2001 and was an investigator in the juvenile unit.
Grimm also said he contacted Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard to discuss the matter, but Hubbard told him someone else from the diocese would call him back to discuss it.
Shortly after that, Grimm claims then Schenectady Police Chief Richard Nelson called him into his office and told him it was not appropriate protocol for him to call the bishop.
"I called Hubbard, kept it discreet ... I was chastised by Chief Nelson for calling him," said Grimm, who added that Urban's father was a Schenectady police officer. "I said I was unaware of the protocol."
No charges were ever filed against Urban, but Grimm said shortly thereafter the priest was sent by the diocese to the Servants of Paraclete pedophile treatment center in New Mexico, which closed in 1994.
Nelson, 66, who retired as chief in 1990, went as far as saying, "it's possible" the incident had occurred, but that it was so long ago he wasn't sure.
"It may have happened, but I can't recall," said Nelson, who added that the City Hall area was a known hangout for prostitutes back in the '80s.
Nelson also said Grimm was a good cop who never gave him any problems.
"I doubt whether he (Grimm) would lie about something. ... He was an effective cop," said Nelson from his home in Schenectady.
Aretakis, who represents numerous alleged victims of clergy sex abuse, believes that the incident is proof of how the diocese conspired with law-enforcement agencies to keep potentially controversial issues out of the limelight.
"I think the federal government should be interested in how it kept problem priests outside of our criminal and civil justice system," said Aretakis.
Diocese spokesperson Kenneth Goldfarb would not confirm or deny the incident occurred or comment on whether Urban had been sent away for treatment.
However, he did say it should be noted that none of the allegations made against Urban by Grimm were considered illegal or are mentioned in a recent complaint the pastor filed with the Committee on Professional Standards against Aretakis.
"We're not going to talk about anything of that nature involving a priest (or any employee of the diocese)," said Goldfarb. "When a concern of this nature is brought to the diocese, it is viewed seriously and dealt with appropriately.
"We have a policy that deals with clergy sex abuse of minors, and that is handled differently. This is not that kind of case," he added.
Grimm contends he never would have gone public with his story had it not been for Urban recently filing the complaint, which accuses Aretakis of making false statements during a May 8 address to members of the Coalition of Concerned Catholics in the Albany Diocese.
In the complaint, which was released to the media this week by Aretakis, Urban contends that Aretakis publicly criticized him after he (Urban) made positive statements on Hubbard's behalf during a televised news conference with the diocese back in February.
During Aretakis' address to the Concerned Catholics, an ultra conservative Catholic group, he claimed that Urban was picked up by police at the Albany Festival of Nations in an Empire Plaza Concourse men's room for inappropriate sexual conduct 15 years ago.
"I have no idea where such allegations originated," wrote Urban to the Committee on Professional Standards in reaction.
Aretakis also told the group that the late Rev. John Minkler, who committed suicide in February, wrote six letters, each noting at the bottom that Urban was "one of the worst," sexual predators.
Urban reacted in his letter to the committee by saying all the allegations against him are false and that they had devastated him and his family.
"The clear implication in the context of Mr. Aretakis statement surrounding that sentence is that I am one of the worst pedophiles or abusers of children," wrote Urban.
There are no police records of any arrest or charges against Urban.
Grimm did not attend a Friday morning press conference at Aretakis' home in North Greenbush, but he did say over the phone if Urban decided to sue Aretakis he would testify on behalf of Aretakis.
Aretakis believes that Urban's complaint, which is latest of many filed by people related to the diocese, is just a way to threaten him and his clients.
"Their (the diocese) strategy is to attack the lawyer...that obviously backfired here," said Aretakis. Urban's lawyer Robert Roche was out of town and could be reached for comment.
Aretakis is Captain Queeg pursuing the Great Whale, Hubbard.
He'll destroy his career in the process.
Looks like Aretakis has some of the evidence he needs to defend himself from Urban's complaint about the statements Aretakis made; he's got his witness, Grimm.
It will be interesting to see if the court says he needs the personnel file to defend himself against Urban's complaint.