New York priest accused of stealing $1m to pay for gay sex, drugs, house steps down

A priest from the Archdiocese of New York who has been accused by his parishioners of stealing as much as $1 million from his parish to pay for gay sex with a bodybuilding "slave master" called Keith Crist and illegal drugs has stepped down as pastor of St Frances de Chantal in the Bronx.

Parishioners say that they had made numerous complaints to the office of Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York before the archdiocese began an investigation into the conduct of the 52-year-old priest. 

Alleged details of Fr Miqueli's conduct began to emerge after the former girlfriend of Crist told the New York Post newspaper that she emailed Cardinal Dolan earlier this year, with details of Fr Peter Miqueli's alleged activities.

In her email she said that Crist had told her that Fr Miqueli, 52, enjoyed $300 bottles of Scotch and would pay Crist $1,000 an hour for the sex sessions that would take place at a white brick ranch house in New Jersey that she alleged was bought in cash from funds embezzled from the church.

In 2012, the whistleblower added, the priest and his "master", spent $60,000 on "illicit and prescription drugs". It was claimed that the money came from the poor box in the church and the profits from a charity shop that the parish runs. 

The whistleblower also said in her email that she had walked in on the pair in bed together on several occasions.

Parishioners at St Frances de Chantal and his previous parish, St Frances Cabrini, on Roosevelt Island have filed a 36-page lawsuit in the Manhattan Supreme Court in a bid to recover some of the money both parishes allege Fr Miqueli embezzled.

The suit includes salacious details of the sexual affair Fr Miqueli allegedly carried on with Crist and also claims the priest pays part of the monthly rent for Crist's Manhattan apartment. 

Saying that he made the decision to step down "while this unfortunate and regrettable situation is investigated," Fr Miqueli in a letter to members of St Frances de Chantal Parish wrote that he was "not guilty of the charges" brought against him but "felt that my continued presence here would be a distraction to you, particularly during this season of Advent and Christmas".

The letter went on to say that Fr Miqueli has been cooperating with the investigation and intends "to continue in any way possible to resolve this matter".

Fr Miqueli's letter of resignation was read to parishioners attending Masses at St Frances de Chantal the weekend of 12-13 December.

Joseph Zwilling, director of communications of the Archdiocese of New York, said in a statement: "The archdiocese has, from the beginning, taken these allegations seriously, and has been investigating them, including conducting a forensic audit of the parish, which is still ongoing.

"To date we have found nothing to substantiate the allegations that have been raised, and, in fact, with regard to the parish finances, we know that the allegation that Father Miqueli stole $1 million from each parish, as was alleged by the plantiffs’ attorney, is completely false. 

"We did find that Fr Miqueli had deficient management and administrative practices, and have put forward several directives to remedy those deficiencies."

Parishioners claim that the Archdiocese of New York has not been as proactive as it claims.

In an editorial on their Facebook campaign page, a parishioner wrote: "Since his arrival in October 2012, he [Fr Miqueli] brought nothing but sadness, evil, and suffering to our great parish. For three years, we as a parish have fought against the Archdiocese of New York longing for his removal.

"Our complaints and issues with Fr Miqueli fell upon deaf ears within the Archdiocese. While the Director of Communications in the Archdiocese, Joseph Zwilling, and Cardinal Dolan claim to have taken our concerns seriously since the beginning, this is sadly false."

In addition to Father Miqueli, the suit also names New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan and the New York Archdiocese as defendants.