6A NATION
THE UNIVERSITY OF HAIRY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2007
>> ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
Case to be decided by jury
Sixth-largest diocese faces $150 million molestation lawsuit
BY FRANK ELTMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINEOLA, N.Y. — The nations sixth-largest Roman Catholic diocese is headed to trial this week in a $150 million lawsuit accusing church officials of recklessness for employing a youth minister who raped and sodomized teenagers.
But despite its familiar scenario of youths abused by religious leaders, this case is unique: It could be one of the few decided by a jury, rather than a quiet, out-of-court settlement.
The U.S. Conference of Bishops estimates abuse-related costs from lawsuits have exceeded $1.5 billion, the majority out-of-court settlements.
Many of the alleged acts took place so long ago their statutes of limitations have expired.
court, in part to prevent details of the alleged abuse from going public, said Steve Rubino, a New Jersey lawyer who has handled hundreds of church sex abuse cases.
Many cases are settled out of
"Our allegations are that the church was not only negligent but reckless in its handling of the employment of Maiello."
On Long Island, a grand jur
"There is a tendency not to want to run that risk." Rubino said.
MICHAEL DOWD Attorney
found nearly two dozen cases of abuse going back decades in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the nation's sixth largest with 1.3 million Catholics in 134 parishes.
The case
with opening statements set for Monday involves Matthew Maiello, who pleaded guilty to rape and sodomy in 2003 and served more than two years in prison. But the real focus is St. Raphael's Church in East Meadow, its pastor, the Rev. Thomas Haggerty, and the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
"This is about who let the lions loose," said attorney Michael Dowd.
who represents two plaintiffs — a man and a woman — who claimed church officials failed to act when confronted with reports that they were repeatedly molested by Maiello as teenagers.
"Our allegations are that the church was not only negligent but reckless in its handling of the employment of Maiello," said Dowd. "There were warning signs ... that weren't dealt with at all by the pastor."
Concerns about Miaelle's activities were raised at a December 1999 meeting with Haggerty, but the matter was dropped and no action taken, the lawsuit contends.
Diocesan spokesman Sean Dolan did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
Brian Davey, an attorney representing the pastor, the parish and the diocese, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
"We don't try our cases in the newspaper," he said. "We try in them in the courtroom."
Although named as a defendant, Maiello's attorney, Lawrence Carra, said his client would not contest the allegations and would abide by any verdict.
Crash and burn
Greg Coverdale's sprint car flips after shearing a utility pole during a warm-up run Saturday at the Bridgeport, N.J., Speedway, Coverdale, or Milford, Del., was taken to a nearby hospital after the wreck.
Tom Kelly/ASSOCIATED PRESS
》FEDERAL FIRINGS
Attorney General apologizes before Senate appearance
BY LARA JAKES JORDAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, fighting to save his job, said in a prepared Senate testimony Sunday he has "nothing to hide" in the firings of eight federal prosecutors but claimed a hazy memory about his involvement in them.
Two Republican senators said Gonzales has yet to shore up his credibility amid shifting explanations of his role in the dismissals. Vice President Dick Cheney reaffirmed White House support for the attorney general — but left it to Gonzales to defend himself to lawmakers who have called for his resignation.
In his 25-page statement,
Gonzales apologized for embar-
ration.
rassing the eight U.S. attorneys and their families by letting their ousters erupt into a political firestorm that has engulfed the Justice Department since January. He maintained the firings were not improper, but said he remembers having only an indirect role in the plans beyond approving them.
"I have nothing to hide, and I am committed to assuring the Congress and the American public that nothing improper occurred here," Gonzales said in prepared testimony released before he appears Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The panel, which oversees the Justice Department, is investigating whether the firings were politically motivated.
"I am sorry for my missteps that have helped to fuel the controversy," he said.
Gonzales added: "In hindsight, I would have handled this differently. ... Looking back, it is clear to me that I should have done more personally to ensure that the review process was more rigorous, and that each U.S. attorney was informed of this decision in a more personal and respectful way."
Cheney said he and President Bush continue to have "every confidence" in Gonzales and looked forward to hearing his testimony. Lawmakers also are questioning what role White House officials, including chief political strategist Karl Rove, played in the firings.
"This took place inside the Justice Department," Cheney said on "Face the Nation" on CBS. "The one who needs to answer to that and lay out on the record the specifics of what transpired is the attorney general, and he'll do so."
GOP Sens. Arlen Specter and Lindssey Graham said Gonzales has a difficult battle ahead in convincing the public he can lead the Justice Department.
"The No. 1 question is, is he capable of administering the Department of Justice, did he have enough hands on to know what's happening?" said Specter of Pennsylvania, the Senate panel's top Republican. "Can he explain why these individuals were
"He's got a steep hill to climb," Specter said. "He's going to be successful only if he deals with the facts."
Graham (R-S.C.) said he believed Gonzales can save his job. Still, the attorney general has "an uphill struggle to re-establish his credibility with the committee given prior statements."
Specter spoke on ABC's "This Week," and Graham appeared on "Fox News Sunday."
"He needs to explain what he did and why he did it," Graham said. "There are three or four different versions of his role in this, and he needs to bring clarity to what he did and why he did it."
asked to resign and justify the reasons for doing so?
In his written testimony, Gonzales claimed he vaguely remembered discussions about the firings, including being asked about at least two possible replacements for vacant U.S. attorney jobs. He also said he recalled "two specific instances" when he was told that then-White House counsel Harriet Miers was seeking updates of the Justice Department's prosecutor evaluations.
Sampson left the Justice Department over the controversy March 12. He told the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 29 that he remembered discussions with Gonzales regarding "this process of asking certain U.S. attorneys to resign."
geted. the few, brief updates on the firings he received from Kyle Sampson, his former chief of staff, "focused primarily on the review process itself," Gonzales said.
He indicated he trusted his most senior aides, including Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, to select prosecutors who would be asked to resign, based on their performance. "It was to be a group of officials, including the deputy attorney general, who were much more knowledgeable than I about the performance of each U.S. attorney," he said.
"During those updates, to my knowledge, I did not make decisions about who should or should not be asked to resign," Gonzales said.
"Fuzzy recollections do not help us get to the bottom of what happened," Schumer said in a statement Sunday. "Evasive answers do not clear up the many contradictions uncovered so far. 'I don't' know, 'I don't recall' or indirect answers that avoid the questions will not do."
But Gonzales indicated he could not definitively say whether he was involved in decisions on selecting which prosecutors would be tar-
Gonzales also said he might be unable to answer all of lawmakers' questions because, trying to avoid any influence on his own testimony, he intentionally did not review transcripts of what his staff told congressional investigators in closed-door meetings. "As a result, I may be somewhat limited when it comes to providing you with all of the facts that you may desire," he said.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) one of Gonzales' most vocal critics and the first to call on the attorney general to resign, said the written remarks did little to clear up questions and contradictory statements about the firings.
Gonzales signaled he had no plans to step down — a decision that he has said repeatedly should be left to President Bush.