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Priest Accused of Stealing $1M from Church to Spend on Kinky Gay Liaisons
Priest Accused of Stealing $1M from Church to Spend on Kinky Gay Liaisons
A Bronx priest has been accused of stealing more than a million dollars from two churches to spend on his boyfriend, who was his kinky 'master.'
The Rev. Peter Miqueli, a Catholic priest from the Bronx, has been sued by former parishioners for stealing more than a million dollars from two churches and spending it on a long-running romance with his younger boyfriend -- who was allegedly the priest's "master" in the men's sadomasochistic sexual relationship.
The boyfriend, Keith Crist, the Archdiocese of New York, and notoriously antigay Cardinal Timothy Dolan have been named as co-defendants in the civil lawsuit.
According to the New York Daily News, the suit alleges that Miqueli stole money from a fund to fix a church pipe organ and from a parish thrift store.
Parishioners allege that Miqueli spent the money on a lavish house, drugs, a BMW, expensive vacations, and $1000 for each S&M session with Crist, who "would force Father Miqueli to drink Keith Crist's urine."
"This lawsuit seeks to finally put an end to this truly sinful conduct," the court filing reads, "so that St. Frances de Chantal parish can regain the strength, spirituality and faith it once had before Father Miqueli arrived."
Parishioners were tipped off by Crist's girlfriend, who turned over "scores" of text messages and emails between the two men. The suit claims she alerted Cardinal Dolan and other church officials, who covered up the scandal.
The plaintiffs' lawyer, Michael G. Dowd, told the New York Post, "We've done a lot of homework. This is a bad guy. 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?"
Joseph Zwilling, a spokesperson for Cardinal Dolan, said the Archdiocese has "taken these allegations seriously," but hasn't substantiated the sexual or financial allegations against Miqueli. An investigation earlier this year resulted in minor financial changes to the church's governing.
"We are continuing to look into it," Zwilling said.
Miqueli, who has a salary of $2,545 a month, currently has more than $900,000 in savings and a brokerage account, according to the court filings. Zwilling was unable to justify how the priest had amassed such a large sum on his meager salary, or how he was able to afford to pay cash for a $264,000 home.
