Brooklyn Monsignor Gigantiello Reassigned – NBC New York

A Brooklyn monsignor whose church had been subpoenaed during the Eric Adams corruption probe has been relieved of many of his duties after allegedly mishandling $2 million in church funds and using a church credit card for personal expenses, the diocese said in a statement Monday.

Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was stripped of “any clerical oversight or governance role in the parish because he has mishandled significant church funds and interfered in the administration of Paris after being asked not to do so,” the statement read .

The diocese says it learned of the alleged “serious violations” as part of ongoing legal investigations into the federal corruption scandal. In September, News 4 reported that the Catholic Church in Williamsburg had received a subpoena requesting information about financial or business dealings between Frank Carone, one-time chief of staff for Adams, and Gigantiello.

At the time, the two claimed a decades-long friendship.

Gigantiello was also the monsignor who allowed the shooting of Sabrina Carpenter’s pop music video in the church, which the diocese says was against politics. He also lost status immediately after that incident. His replacement, Deacon Dobbins, has also been placed on administrative leave. The church claims Gigantiello ordered someone to record a private conversation with Dobbins that happened in the parish office. Dobbins used offensive and racist language during that conversation, the church says, and while the recording was made without his consent, it says he is responsible.

The review that revealed these findings was prompted by Bishop Robert Brennan’s initiation of a broad assessment of compliance with diocesan policies at Our Lady of Mount Carmel. According to the findings, Gigantiello transferred $1.9 million in Parish funds to bank accounts associated with Carone’s law firm as well as two affiliated companies.

These transfers took the form of apparent loans or business investments from the parish to the Carone-affiliated entities, one with interest, one without.

Arthur Aidala, Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello’s attorney, said the credit card charges in question were authorized in writing under the terms of the monsignor’s compensation agreement. He says this is because the monsignor simultaneously acted in several roles in the church, including development pastor. Aidala said those business deals benefited the church, for example returning 12 percent interest on the initial $1 million investment with Abrams Fensterman (higher than the 9 percent cited by the diocese). A spokesman for Carone declined to comment.

Gigantiello failed to inform diocesan officials or obtain the necessary approval for the transfers, church officials say.

“The case that provided financial benefit to the diocese has been closed,” a spokesman for the law firm, Abrams Fensterman LLP, told NBC New York.

The review also found additional instances where Gigantiello used and transferred Parish funds in violation of policy. They say he also used a church credit card for significant personal expenses, which remain under investigation.

Gigantiello is known for his love of cooking, as can be seen on his Facebook page. He makes a line of pasta sauce called “A Taste of Heaven,” the proceeds of which he has said go to charity.

Neither Carone, Gigantiello nor Dobbins have been charged with any criminal wrongdoing at this time. A representative for Gigantiello did not immediately return requests for comment. Stu Loeser, a spokesman for Carone, is reviewing News 4’s request for comment.

John Marzulli, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, declined to comment on the ongoing criminal investigation.