Brooklyn pastor stripped of duties for lending church funds to key Adams advisor Frank Carone

Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, pastor of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church successful Williamsburg, has been removed from cardinal duties aft an probe recovered helium spent the church’s wealth connected himself and doled retired astir $2 million successful unauthorized loans to entities owned by Frank Carone, an influential advisor to Mayor Adams, the Diocese of Brooklyn said Monday.

The investigation, which was initiated aft Gigantiello allowed pop prima Sabrina Carpenter to movie a euphony video astatine the church, recovered that loans totaling $1.9 cardinal went to Carone’s instrumentality steadfast arsenic good arsenic 2 different companies affiliated with the erstwhile Adams main of staff.

“I person besides relieved Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, the existent pastor, of immoderate pastoral oversight oregon governance relation astatine the Parish due to the fact that helium has mishandled important religion funds and interfered with the medication of the Parish aft being directed not to bash so,” Bishop Robert Brennan said successful a statement.

Federal authorities subpoenaed the religion successful September implicit imaginable dealings with Carone. No 1 has been charged successful transportation with that probe.

An interior probe recovered that Gigantiello issued a million-dollar indebtedness to Carone’s instrumentality firm, Abrams Fensterman LLP successful January 2019 without the required support oregon notification to the Diocese. It was repaid with 9% involvement betwixt June 2020 and June 2021, according to the release.

In August 2021 and November 2021, Gigantiello dug into the Parish coffers to marque 2 much loans totaling $900,000  to 2 companies besides affiliated with Carone: Cesco LLC and Lex Ave 660 Partners LLC. These transfers were besides made without support and without notifying the Diocese.

Gigantiello besides utilized the religion recognition paper for important idiosyncratic expenses, the merchandise said.

Gigantiello has served arsenic pb pastor since 2017.

The interior review, conducted by steadfast Alvarez & Marsal and Sullivan & Cromwell, came aft the pastor allowed singer Sabrina Carpenter to movie a euphony video wrong the church.

Carone, Adams’ archetypal main of staff, is now moving a lobbying firm and is expected to seat the mayor’s 2025 reelection campaign.

(L-R) Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, Mayor Eric Adams and Frank Carone. (Facebook)

Neither Carone nor Gigantiello — who are longtime friends — person been accused of immoderate wrongdoing by the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s office.

Carone and Gigantiello are partners successful a firm entity called DMC Capital Group. Gigantiello holds a 7.5% involvement and Carone’s household trust, which helium controls, holds a 24.67% stake, concern records show.

DMC Capital Group is an capitalist successful and co-founded different firm entity called Financial Vision Group IV, records show. Financial Vision was sued by GEICO successful Brooklyn Federal Court past twelvemonth successful a civilian suit alleging Financial Vision helped money a strategy wherever doctors billed the security institution for $3.5 cardinal successful no-fault aesculapian procedures that either didn’t hap oregon weren’t necessary.

Bishop Witold Mroziewski, is present head of the Parish, according to the release.

The Parish’s impermanent administrator, Deacon Dean Dobbins has besides been relieved of duties aft utilizing “racist and different violative connection during backstage conversations” that were secretly recorded by Gigantiello, according to Brennan.