A bishop accused of stealing money from Saint Peter’s Chaldean in East County pleaded not guilty Monday to 15 felony counts.
Bishop Emanuel Shaleta has spent the last four nights in jail after he was arrested at the San Diego airport trying to leave the country.
There were so many supporters for the embattled bishop at the El Cajon courthouse that some had to wait in the hallway because there were no seats left in the courtroom.
Shaleta himself was seated behind bars in a holding area of the courtroom. His lawyer stood in front of him, allowing to the defendant to evade the camera, although the judge ordered the media not to show his face while he was in court.
Prosecutor Joel Madero argued that Shaleta is a flight risk and that the $125,000 in bail already set was appropriate — but only if Shaleta wears a GPS monitor to make sure.
“When he was arrested last Friday, it was at the San Diego International Airport, and he was on his way to Germany,” Madero said after court. “Given his access to funds, the fact that he had over $9,000 in the bag when he was stopped, and the fact that he has these international ties, we’re close to Mexico — I do believe that some bail to ensure he shows up is appropriate.”
Shaleta’s attorney argued the flight was pre-planned and that her client had no intention of running away from the charge that claims he stole at least $270,000.
The deputy district attorney wasn’t buying it.
“That money effectively vanished, and the money was going to the bishop, via the secretary,” Madero said. “There is no accounting of that money. The bishop indicated that was given to the needy.”
Shaleta’s supporters — and there were lots of them — believe in their bishop.
“This charge is not correct,” parishioner Farouk Gewarges told NBC 7. “It should be removed from him,” adding that he believes the sheriffs investigators made a mistake: “I think so. They should come and talk to me.”
After court on Monday, it appeared that the bishop would be able to make the $125,000 bail, with funds, the prosecutor said, would not come from the alleged embezzlement.
Shaleta is due back at the El Cajon courthouse next month for a preliminary hearing. If convicted of all of the embezzlement and money-laundering charges, he could spend 15 years behind bars.
The allegations
The allegations against Shaleta are connected to eight months of rent payments prosecutors say were paid in cash from a tenant of the church’s social hall to Shaleta himself. Madero said Monday those rent payments were monthly installments of over $30,000 and the alleged missing payments totaled around $272,000.
The prosecutor said Shaleta moved money from a church bank account designed to assist the needy to the church’s operations account as a means of concealing the embezzlement. When a financial adviser for the church flagged the discrepancies in the accounts, Shaleta “provided completely unreasonable tales of where that money was going,” such as giving the cash away to the needy, Madero said.
The prosecutor said Shaleta could not provide proof of who he gave the money to or when he provided the money, and later removed the financial adviser’s access to the accounts.
The original investigation
After a months-long investigation by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Fraud Unit, Bishop Emanuel Shaleta, 60, of Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle of San Diego was taken into custody by San Diego sheriff’s deputies, who said at the time that he faces eight counts of embezzlement, eight counts of money laundering, and an enhancement of “aggravated white collar crime.”
Investigators also said on Thursday that the case began when the sheriff’s office was contacted last August by somebody from the St. Peter Chaldean Church in unincorporated El Cajon. The church official gave investigators a “statement and documents showing potential embezzlement from the church. Upon completion of the initial investigation, the case was forwarded to and investigated by the sheriff’s fraud unit.”
The church’s internal investigation reportedly began after an article was published in The Pillar, which is staffed by a team of Catholic journalists who uncover church issues.
The Pillar article stated that documents show that Shaleta may have misappropriated funds that came in the form of rental payments for a property owned by the church. According to The Pillar, Shaleta then repaid that money with funds reserved for charity. More than $427,000 is missing, but the article states the number could be as high as $1 million.
The Pillar’s reporting also shows Shaleta was a regular at a Tijuana brothel called The Hong Kong Billionaire’s Club. A private investigator’s report obtained by The Pillar shows the investigator followed the bishop and witnessed his comings and goings.
The Pillar’s investigator also reported that Shaleta frequented the home of a woman with whom he shares a bank account. The two met when they both worked for the church in Michigan, then stayed in contact when Shaleta was transferred to Toronto. When Shaleta was transferred to San Diego, the woman and her children followed him. According to The Pillar, the investigator’s report shows Shaleta had unfettered access to the woman’s home, using a security keypad to enter. The woman was also witnessed using keys to enter Shaleta’s home. They were together for long periods of time, according to the investigator’s report obtained by The Pillar.
The investigator’s report adds that Shaleta was often seen alone with the woman’s children, treating them as one would their own children.
NBC 7 contacted the San Diego-based private investigator. He declined to elaborate on his work.
The Pillar reported that Shaleta sent a resignation letter to The Vatican last month, but Shaleta was still in the pulpit for a Sunday mass weeks ago, according to a video posted on YouTube.
NBC 7 reached out to the Vatican to find out more about Shaleta’s status but has not received a response. NBC 7 sent an email last week asking a priest at St. Peter’s to ask Shaleta if he would be willing to talk about the allegations but received no response.
Bishop addresses allegations from the pulpit
During that recent Sunday mass, Shaleta spoke openly about the Vatican’s investigation into money laundering and embezzlement allegations raised against him.
“I have never — in my episcopal life — have I used any penny of the church money,” Shaleta said. “On the contrary: I have done my best to preserve and manage the donations,” also saying, “you are the only one who can believe me and defend my integrity in the church financial matters and in life.”
Last Friday, NBC 7 spoke with a long-time parishioner, Nidhal Shamoun, who said she still supports the bishop wholeheartedly. She said she was shocked when she learned about the bishop’s arrest.
“I cried,” Shamoun said. “He doesn’t deserve to be there.”
Shamoun described Shaleta as “a good leader. I didn’t see nothing wrong with him with money? He doesn’t like money.” She said the congregation prayed for Shaleta on Friday and that she hopes he is innocent.
“The church will go on,” Shamoun said. “Been going on for more than 2,000 years. The devil is trying to do something. We beat them so many times. We are gonna beat them, hopefully, this time. We love him and we are behind him 100% — 1000%.”
Statement from St. Peter the Apostle church
The priests of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle released the following statement:
“After hearing all of the critics and attacks against our eparchy and bishop, we ask the lord to protect our eparchy and bishop from all of the negative attacks. We are in solidarity with our eparchy and bishop. We are awaiting the decision on this matter. Please continue to keep this eparchy in your prayers and remain faithful to the salvific mission of Christ.”
Deputies are asking anybody with information about the case to contact them at (858) 285-6111. Tips can also be called in anonymously to Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
