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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| When Episcopal Priests Go Bad |
| 2009-08-26 |
| A health care agency founded by a controversial Episcopal "party priest" is under investigation by the state Attorney General's office. Agents from the office of Attorney General Tom Corbett raided New Life Home Care Inc. at 48 S. Main St. in Pittston on Tuesday, removing boxes of documents. "We executed search warrants as part of an ongoing insurance fraud investigation," Corbett's Press Secretary Kevin Harley said. New Life Home Care Inc., founded in 2000 by the Rev. Gregory Malia, 44, of Laflin, provides services for people with bleeding disorders. According to the company Web site, Malia has hemophilia himself and started the pharmacy "because he saw the need for an advocate between the patient and the HTC (hemophilia treatment center)." Malia, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in theology from King's College, was ordained in 2002, serving first as assistant vicar at Trinity Church in West Pittston before becoming pastor of St. James Episcopal Church in Dundaff, Susquehanna County. His lavish tips and generosity in picking up tabs in pricey Manhattan night spots led the New York Daily News to refer to him as a "big-spending, champagne-swilling, club-hopping Episcopal priest from Pennsylvania." He disputed the accuracy of the Daily News' accounts in a January interview with a Times-Shamrock reporter. Malia made the New York news again after a July 7 incident in Jenkins Township. After running into his estranged daughters at the River Street Ale House, police allege he pulled a .38-caliber handgun on his daughters' boyfriends outside the bar, while two of Malia's female friends beat up his daughters. His preliminary hearing on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, and reckless endangerment is scheduled for Oct. 6. No charges have been filed or arrests made in the Attorney General's investigation. The Diocese of Bethlehem suspended Malia in December after the initial newspaper reports surfaced. Last week, the diocese announced he would be demoted for six months. If, at the end of that time, Malia fails to "make matters completely right," he could be defrocked, Bishop Paul V. Marshall stated. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #1 Sounds like he's a prime candidate for a position within the 'public option' ... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-08-26 13:34 |