Gay priest accused of embezzling over a million dollars
It reads like a movie script but a very real lawsuit from two Catholic churches in New York seeks to recover over a million dollars a priest allegedly stole to spend on his escort-body builder boyfriend.
Reverend Peter Miqueli, currently a pastor at St. Frances de Chantal in Throggs Neck, is accused of using church money to pay for S&M sex with bodybuilder escort boyfriend Keith Crist, also a co-defendant, in a house purchased with $264,000 in cash, reports the New York Daily.
Filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court last week on December 10, angry parishioners are also suing the Archdiocese of New York who they claim have covered up for Miqueli.
“This lawsuit seeks to finally put an end to this truly sinful conduct so that St. Frances de Chantal parish can regain the strength, spirituality and faith it once had before Father Miqueli arrived,” the court papers said.
The lawsuit also alleges the priest stole money from the collection plate of his old church, St. Francis Cabrini, stole money collected for a church organ, and embezzled money through the Cabrini-run charity shop by cooking the books and then destroying financial documentation.
It is claimed Miqueli, 53, then spent the stolen money on trips to Italy and Florida, in addition to paying for kinky sex sessions with Crist charged at $1000 per booking.
Lawyer Michael Dowd, who represents the two churches, said “charges of theft and misconduct have been made for at least 10 years.”
“It is unbelievable that the diocese can’t come to a conclusion about the misconduct of Miqueli when there is money missing that may be a million dollars,” he said.
‘”The thing that’s really amazing to me is, how could this guy be acting this way for nine years or so and the Archdiocese does nothing? Someone extremely powerful is keeping Miqueli in as pastor.”
A spokesman for the Archdiocese said they were taking the allegations seriously and have ordered an audit of the parish.
“To date we have found nothing to substantiate the allegations that have been raised,” they said.
“If anyone has information or documentation to substantiate the allegations, we would invite them to bring that information forward, or to contact the district attorney.”