CT Priest Used Church Cash For NYC Pad, Male Escorts

Rev. Kevin J. Gray

Roman Catholic Priest Rev. Kevin J. Gray was charged with first-degree larceny for stealing $1.3 million to pay for "hotels, restaurant meals, clothing and male escorts." Oh and also rent on a NYC apartment and the Harvard tuition for a man he met in Central Park. According to the Hartford Courant, the Waterbury priest told authorities he "'had grown to hate being a priest' because the Archdiocese had given him the 'worst church assignments' where he would 'have to fix problems made by the previous priests,' according to his arrest warrant."

The authorities starting looking into the matter when the Sacred Heart parish discovered money was missing. Gray claimed to the congregation that he had cancer and was placed on medical leave; no one at his rectory heard from him since mid-April. It turned out he was living on the Upper East Side, in a York Avenue apartment, with Weirui Zhong:

Gray told Zhong he was an attorney for Catholic Charities in New Haven and that he had attended Georgetown Law Schools. He also told Zhong he was being treated for colon cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Gray would come to New York on Wednesdays after 8 a.m. mass. He told Zhong he had his cancer treatments on Wednesday, the affidavit states. He would then stay a few days, returning to Waterbury in time for Saturday's 4 p.m. mass.

Zhong told police in a sworn statement that Gray has also been paying his tuition at Harvard University since 2008. He said Gray gave him large sums of money when Gray felt he was going to die of cancer.

Zhong said he asked Gray several times why Gray was paying him with checks from the Sacred Heart Church bank account instead of Gray's personal account. Gray said he placed his life savings, including money he had earned from winning big cases as an attorney, into the church's account.

While police questioned Zhong on June 10, Gray arrived at the apartment. Zhong asked police if he could speak with Gray first. In the presence of the detectives, Zhong asked Gray if he was an attorney, if he had ever attended Georgetown, if he had colon cancer and if he had ever had cancer. To all four questions, Gray answered "No," the affidavit states.

Gray also said he was "gay and has a problem with the church's stance on homosexuality."

Gray allegedly wrote over $1.4 million in checks from a church account. His American Express charges since 2003 were over $655,000 (hotel stays at the Waldorf! shopping at Barneys! dinner at Tavern on the Green!); he also opened up credit cards in the names of two men, one he met at a strip bar, another he hired as a male escort. A police spokesman said, "I think that's how he explained his absence from the parish."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on July 6, 2010 6:32 PM

Comments [rss]

rammyh

Shouldn't he had tons of duties and parishoners to see from Wed am to Sun am? Didn't in CT anyone miss him?

ReligiousWacko

This IS news! Why? He wasnt interested in kids!

robingee

Let's stop making gay people feel like they are going to Hell and maybe everyone can live a nice normal life just as they are. Religion is the devil.

RoboticInsides

LOL.

freddynyc

Despite engaging in the typical unsavory homosexual practices, you have to give this Catholic priest credit for not fornicating with young boys...

bleeckerite

I saw this on the news last night. Not gonna lie, I was expecting to hear the "male escort" bit...

henryhamilton

Sorry. This is a great story. I love this guy. Greatest priest ever. Ever.

gerf

just a typical priest

Jackie Curtis

Betcha there were a lot of second collections at his church.

dadoc

I would think that a large multi-national corporation such as the RCC would have better accounting practices in place. Other religions are more decentralized (kinda LLC's), but RCC really should have a central accounting office, and a financial OIG. Really fiscally irresponsible, I have no sympathy for their stated fisacl problems.

wow 14th street

Wonder what this Priest was doing with his

thingy in the darkened confessional box during the

admission of sins?

Sketto

Shocking. A Catholic priest did this? Now way.

But how how how will I know how to be moral if I can't get my morality from the leaders of the Catholic Church?

ANGRYGOD11

Gray also said he was "gay and has a problem with the church's stance on homosexuality."
.
Gray might have a bigger problem with the law's stance on stealing 1.3 million.

Mordicai

Priests are people; certain people involved in bureaucracy are corrupt. QED & all that. Then again, the delicious smell of flagrant hateful hypocrisy being exposed to the world does smell good in the evening.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

Father Brian Jordan of the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus should be investigated. He advocated for the early release of the officers who sodomized an immigrant. He stated these officers including Schwarz was innocent even though all the evidence stated otherwise. This father also curses at people and advocates for the cruelty of NYC horse drawn carriages. I bet he is also involved with other scandals.