Disgraced bishop spent $4.6 million on mansion that sold for only $1.2 million

[yortsed snacilbuper]

Church officials said the private sale was a way to avoid paying commission to real estate agents, but it also had the effect of keeping the public from taking the full measure of Bransfield’s extravagance and excess.

More than just an opulent private retreat for a high-spending bishop, Elmcrest was the site where the heavy-drinking cleric quaffed Cointreau and made unwanted sexual overtures toward younger priests in a basement with a custom-made sunken bar, according to a confidential report by church investigators for the Vatican completed earlier this year. The Washington Post obtained a copy of the report and published a redacted version online on Dec. 23.

In his 13 years as bishop, Bransfield spent more than $2.4 million traveling the world, often by private jet, and gave fellow clerics hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash gifts that originated from the diocese’s accounts, church documents show. Nowhere did he spend more church money than on the turn-of-the-century mansion at 52 Elmwood Place in Wheeling, according to investigators.

What started as a modest renovation before Bransfield’s arrival in 2005 soon sprawled, at his insistence, into a costly undertaking, according to the construction manager, architect and four others involved in the project. By the time it was finished, the residence would feature a $20,000 dining room table, a master bath with a heated floor and a climate-controlled wine cellar that could store hundreds of bottles, they said.

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[malaise]

1. Let us prey! n/t

[Scarsdale]

2. He makes tRump look like

a cheapskate! Imagine all the poor people this money would have helped. Overdue time to tax churches, and televangelists. They are all scam artists. Look at how many of them own private jets.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. "they feared retribution from the church, which is a presence throughout Wheeling ..."

"... including in the hospital system and at Wheeling University". This shows you how corrupt the church has become. Its own members fear it. And it can hurt their education and health, as well as their standing in their religious community. It comes across in this article like an authoritarian political party, or mafia family.

[Ilsa]

4. This is in West Virginia, not Illinois.

Just to clarify.

[Demovictory9]

5. "Church officials said the private sale was a way to avoid paying commission to real estate agents,

Church officials said the private sale was a way to avoid paying commission to real estate agents, but it also had the effect of keeping the public from taking the full measure of Bransfield’s extravagance and excess.

[Demovictory9]

6. ugh...young priests forced to be in his company by the church

The Post reported in June that the church investigation found that Bransfield’s lieutenants had instructed young priests to “make your boundaries clear.” But they also told them that they had no choice but to join Bransfield when he requested them to travel with him or sleep over at his residence, the report states.