Black Collar Crime and Douchebaggery Report for September 18, 2008

[Ian David]

Martin County pastor and wife charged in real estate investment scam
By Joe Crankshaw (Contact), Keona Gardner (Contact)
Tuesday, September 16, 2008

MARTIN COUNTY — A locally well-known pastor and radio show host and his mortgage broker wife, who according to authorities used their positions to lure investors into questionable real estate purchases under the guise of an “investment” scheme, were arrested Tuesday. Rodney and Shalonda McGill of Jensen Beach are being held in the Martin County Jail pending the posting of bail of $1.4 million each.

The McGills face charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, first degree grand theft and obtaining a mortgage by false representation by the Statewide Prosecutors Office in West Palm Beach. The investigation was conducted by Detective Ted Padich of the Department of Financial Services(DFS), Division of Insurance Fraud.

“It appears that these individuals used their positions in the community to take advantage of people who trusted them,” said Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who oversees DFS. “The evidence our investigation uncovered indicates these two improved their own bottom line while financially devastating the Floridians they promised to help.”

<snip>

Padich said that McGill used his radio show to lure in potential investors. He also employed several programs including the Young Millionaire’s Group, Inc. (YMG); RSM Investment and Mortgage (RSM); and New Hope Outreach Center, Inc. (New Hope), all of which operated out of a facility located at 2110 Arch St. in Jensen Beach. Florida corporation documents identify Rodney McGill as president and Shalonda McGill as vice president of New Hope, which is incorporated as a non-profit church with the McGills listed as pastors.

<snip>

The investigation is ongoing into other real estate transactions in which the McGills were involved. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Ted Padich, [phone], with the Division of Insurance Fraud, or Investigator Steve Brignola, [phone], with the Office of Financial Regulation.

More:
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/sep/16/pastor-and-wife-charged-real-estate-investment-sca/



Kelso pastor's child sexual assault case becomes 'very interesting'
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 11:53 PM PDT

The child sexual assault scandal surrounding a Kelso pastor and an immigrant church in Portland called The Peach House is spreading.

Maximo Ake-Be, senior pastor of a humble Pine Street storefront church called Iglesia de Dios in Kelso, was arrested for rape June 26 at his Kelso home.

In late August, another Peach House leader, Manuel Taboada, was charged with similar crimes in Honolulu, Hawaii, Portland police said Monday. Manuel Guillermo Taboada, 56, nicknamed "Memo," is accused of first- and second-degree sexual assault for allegedly molesting a member of a family that belonged to his ministry in Hawaii.

Ake-Be's alleged sexual assaults occurred between 1998 and 2000 at The Peach House, a private in-home church in Northeast Portland, where Portland Police Detective Mace Winter says Taboada was the "main" pastor and Ake-Be an "associate" pastor.

More:
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/09/17/area_news/10421074.txt



Former Delray pastor changes counsel three months before grand theft trial to commence

By Missy Diaz | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 17, 2008

Three months before jury selection is to begin in the grand-theft case against two former pastors of Delray Beach's St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church, one of the priests has changed attorneys.

The Rev. Francis Guinan, 65, asked Circuit Judge Sandra McSorley on Tuesday for permission to substitute well-known defense attorney David Roth for Richard Barlow, of Stuart.


<snip>

An audit by the Diocese of Palm Beach revealed that as much as $8.6 million in cash donations to St. Vincent Ferrer, one of Palm Beach County's oldest and wealthiest parishes, was misappropriated.

Though he was pastor of the church for 40 years, Skehan's charges reflect only a five-year period ending in September 2006. He's accused of taking about $370,000 during that time. Because of statutes of limitations, prosecutors said, they could charge him only with thefts that occurred between September 2001 and September 2006, when charges were initially filed.

More:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flpguinan0917pnsep17,0,3098914.story



Priest's lead role on panel disputed
Abuse victims support group says Monsignor Brenkle should be removed as head of diocese's Lay Review Board
By JEREMY HAY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 8:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 8:34 a.m.


An advocacy and support group for people sexually abused by Catholic priests is challenging a veteran priest's lead role in assessing abuse allegations against clergy in the Santa Rosa Diocese.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, wants Monsignor John Brenkle -- who was once accused and cleared of abusing a middle-school-age boy -- to be removed as chairman of the diocese's Lay Review Board.

"The fact that Monsignor Brenkle has had an accusation against him, it is conflict of interest, certainly for him to be chair and, personally, I think even to be a member" of the board, said Mary Pitcher, a SNAP member.

<snip>

As a priest once accused of abusing someone, Brenkle is the wrong priest for that role, said Erin Brady, a SNAP member who took part in the Napa protests last week.

"He can't be impartial," said Brady, who was a plaintiff in lawsuits filed in 2003 against the Los Angeles Archdiocese by alleged victims of abuse by priests.

More:
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080916/NEWS/809160309/-1/weather&title=Priest_s_lead_role_on_panel_disputed



Priest pleads not guilty to sex charges
BY JACQUELINE VAN AANHOLT AND AAP
16/09/2008 8:40:00 AM
FATHER Peter Dwyer, Armidale’s 65-year-old Catholic parish priest, lodged not guilty pleas to four sexual offence charges in the Bathurst Local Court yesterday.

Fr Dwyer is one of three former St Stanislaus, Bathurst, staff members alleged to have been part of a pedophile ring at the NSW Catholic boarding school in Bathurst.

Fr Dwyer, former priest Brian Spillane and Brother John Gaven lodged not guilty pleas to a total of 128 child sex charges dating from the 1970s and the 1980s via their barrister, Greg Walsh.

Fr Dwyer was arrested in Armidale on Wednesday, September 4.

It was alleged he had engaged in sexual intercourse with pupils aged between 10 and 16 and acts of gross indecency while working at the school. He has denied the charges and recently told the Armidale Express he would fight to clear his name.

More:
http://tamworth.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/priest-pleads-not-guilty-to-sex-charges/1273364.aspx



IL Priest charged with selling cocaine at church
Posted: Sep 17, 2008 09:23 AM

URBANA, IL (AP) - A Catholic priest on the University of Illinois campus has been charged with selling cocaine from his church office and rectory.

The Reverend Christopher Layden pleaded not guilty Thursday to two counts of delivery of less than 1 gram of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a church and one count of possession with intent to deliver 1 to 15 grams of cocaine near a church.

The 33-year-old was arrested Wednesday at St. John's Catholic Newman Center after investigators found three grams of cocaine and drug paraphernalia while searching his home and office. His bond was set at $50,000.

The Catholic Diocese of Peoria says it has suspended Layden.

More:
http://www.wflxfox29.com/Global/story.asp?S=9024385



Udupi: No case of forcible conversion- Qureshi

Udupi Sept 17: Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Mohamed Shafi Qureshi said on Wednesday that the commission had not received any report of forcible conversion from the district administration nor was there any FIR to that effect in Udupi district.

Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Qureshi said that some forces appeared bent on creating disharmony in society. Rumour mongering on sensitive issues was not desirable.

Every Indian had the right to profess and propagate any religion. "Conversion by force is not permitted," he said He said that if there was any forcible conversion, there was the law and order machinery to which complaints could be lodged. Nobody could take law in their own hands on the pretext of alleged conversions. "We have so far not been able to find any forcible conversion here," he said.

<snip>

He had told the commission that the situation at present was peaceful in the district, but there was a sense of fear among the Christians. A peace committee meeting has been called by the Udupi district administration on September 20, he said.

More:
http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=93531


Martin County pastor, wife refuse public defenders
By Joe Crankshaw (Contact)
Thursday, September 18, 2008

STUART — A pastor and radio talk show host and his mortgage broker wife, who are accused of racketeering and mortgage fraud, refused the offer of a public defender during an initial appearance in Martin County Court Wednesday.

Rodney and Shalonda McGill of Sewall's Point were bound over to the felony division of circuit court and returned to the Martin County Jail, where they are each being held pending the posting of $1.4 million bail.

Authorities arrested the McGills following a traffic stop on Tuesday. They were arrested on a warrant from the Statewide Prosecutors Office charging them with racketeering, conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud and mortgage fraud.

<snip>

They also used their clerical status to allay fears of potential investors, according to Florida's Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who announced the arrests Tuesday. Sink heads the agencies responsible for policing insurance and mortgage fraud.

More:
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/sep/18/pastor-wife-refuse-public-defenders/




Teenager accuses pastor from Florence of sexual assault
Thursday, September 18, 2008
BY KEVIN SHEA

A Burlington County man who is a Trenton pastor was arrested in front of his Spring Street church recently on charges from Philadelphia that accuse him of the sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy, authorities said yesterday.

Charles B. Brinson, 48, of Florence, was arrested Saturday as he sat in the driver's seat of a church van in the 300 block of Spring Street. Brinson is pastor of the Brinson Memorial Church and represents himself with the title of bishop. He has also been associated with other congregations in the area, the New Jersey State Police said.

<snip>

In 1988, Brinson, then leading the Brinson Memorial Showers of Blessing Churches World Wide, in Trenton, was charged by federal authorities with arranging marriages between illegal aliens and U.S. citizens for cash, a deal that came with a promise of U.S. citizenship.

In 1996, Brinson complained about his treatment in the Trenton Municipal Court after having to spend a night in jail for having several unpaid fines from an array of cases. During an interview, he ad mitted to a conviction in 1989 for marriage fraud.

More:
http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1221710706303070.xml&coll=5


'Bishop' faces teen-sex rap

By JASON NARK
Philadelphia Daily News

[e-mail] 856-779-3231
Charles B. Brinson, of Burlington County, says that he has spread God's word all over the world.

Law-enforcement officials say that he also traveled to Philadelphia several times to pick up a 15-year-old boy that they say he was sexually assaulting.

Sources say that Brinson, 48, of Florence, also may have spread the HIV virus, which he told authorities that he had after his arrest Saturday in Trenton.

<snip>

Brinson was charged with felony solicitation, felony contact with a minor, felony use of a communication facility and misdemeanor corruption of minors. He was being held in the Mercer County jail.

A now-defunct Web site for the church called Brinson a "prophet" who evangelized throughout the world.

More:
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20080918__Bishop__faces_teen-sex_rap.html




Ex-youth pastor faces kid porn charges
Man's record includes a conviction for sexual misconduct with a minor.
By DOUGLAS WALKER • [e-mail] • September 18, 2008

GASTON -- A rural Delaware County man who once worked as a youth pastor has been apprehended by federal authorities on charges related to child pornography.

Charles S. "Chuck" Miller, 48, 10880 W. Bethel Ave., Gaston, is charged in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis with two counts of "receiving visual depictions of minors engaging in sexual explicit conduct by means of a computer," and one count of possession of a computer containing such images.

<snip>

Miller "also admitted being sexually attracted to photos of nude minor girls," Henderson wrote, and "stated that he knew that the images... were of real children."

<snip>

The postal inspector wrote that Miller also acknowledged being convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor "while serving in a position of trust as a youth minister."

More:
http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080918/NEWS01/809180381/1002



Pastor faces charge of aggravated incest

MONROE, La. -- A pastor at Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Jonesboro is facing charges following allegations he had a sexual relationship with his ex-wife's juvenile daughter before they divorced.

Ouachita Parish deputies arrested 30-year-old Laron D. Williams and booked him with aggravated incest.

According to an arrest affidavit, the abuse began when the girl was 12 years old. It lasted approximately three years or until her mother divorced him in July 2007.

The affidavit says Williams threatened the girl with bodily injury to keep her from telling anyone about the abuse.

More:
http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=9031247