According to church officials, a New York City monsignor who caused controversy by permitting pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter to record a video in his church was stripped of his duties after he reportedly embezzled about $2 million in church funds.
Bishop Robert J. Brennan of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn announced in a statement on Monday that Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Annunciation Parish no longer has any pastoral leadership or governance responsibilities at the parish.
According to NBC New York, the decision came following an examination of the parish’s subpoena in the context of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ corruption scandal.
According to the Diocese, the inquiry “uncovered a pattern of serious violations of Diocesan policies and protocols by Monsignor Gigantiello.”
The Diocese charged that the monsignor had transferred $1.9 million in parish cash to bank accounts connected to Frank Carone’s law firm and two businesses that were associated with him. According to NBC New York, Carone was Adams’ chief of staff at one point.
According to the Diocese, Gigantiello allegedly sent $1 million in parish finances to Carone’s legal practice in January 2019. According to the statement, Gigantiello neglected to notify the Diocese of the transfer or obtain the necessary prior consent. Additionally, the Diocese accused him of not properly documenting the transfer, claiming that Gigantiello failed to get essential information from Carone regarding the intended use of the funds.
The Diocese said that the $1 million transfer was against investment regulations and procedures. Carone’s legal practice reimbursed the funds at an interest rate of about 9%.
According to the Diocese, Gigantiello allegedly transferred $900,000 in parish cash to two Carone-affiliated firms between August 2021 and November 2021.
“Monsignor again did not inform Diocesan officials or seek the required approval for either transfer,” according to the Diocese. “It appears that the Monsignor made both transactions in accordance with notes that stipulated one-year repayment durations at predetermined interest rates. Once more, it seems that Monsignor did not get the information he needed from Mr. Carone on the pertinent businesses or how these funds were being used.
According to the Diocese, Gigantiello asked for an early repayment of the principle amounts for both loans in February 2022 without first informing the Diocese. This was done without asking the parish to pay the significant interest that was stipulated in the notes.
Other instances of the monsignor utilizing and transferring parish cash outside Diocesan policies and procedures were also discovered throughout the examination. According to the Diocese, Gigantiello is also suspected of using a church credit card “for substantial personal expenses,” though the charges are still being looked into.
According to Gigantiello’s lawyer Arthur Aidala, the credit card charges were approved in writing as part of the monsignor’s pay agreement, he told NBC New York. In addition, Aidala asserted that the parish benefited from the money transfers and that the church received 12% interest on the $1 million payment rather than 9% as the Diocese claimed.
An NBC News request for comment on Tuesday was not immediately answered by Carone or his spokesperson.
According to Bishop Brennan, the findings of the probe “saddened” him.
“In order to safeguard the public trust, and to protect church funds, I have appointed Bishop Witold Mroziewski as administrator of the Parish,” he said in a press release.
The Diocese said that Gigantiello’s decision to let pop artist Sabrina Carpenter record a music video at the church last year was a violation of its rules, which sparked the investigation that resulted in Monday’s ruling.
Following the music video incident, Brennan divested Gigantiello of all administrative and financial responsibilities at the parish and dismissed him as the Diocese’s Vicar for Development.
Deacon In Monday’s statement, Brennan noted that although Dean Dobbins was identified as the temporary administrator, the deacon was released when he allegedly used racist and abusive words in a private chat that was videotaped.
According to Brennan, the talk was “ostensibly recorded without the Deacon’s consent at Monsignor Gigantiello’s direction.” Although recording Deacon Dobbins in secret was improper, it is abhorrent and will not be accepted for any church employee to use such language. Dobbins was not available for comment at this time.
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