Stalker Priest Is Praised, by Matthew Nestel, New York Post, November 12, 2007

'Stalker' Priest Is Praised

By Matthew Nestel
New York Post
November 12, 2007

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11122007/news/nationalnews/stalker__priest_is_praised_959162.htm

November 12, 2007 — Parishioners at a Boston-area Catholic church last night lauded their former priest, who has been busted for stalking TV host Conan O'Brien.

CONAN O'BRIEN
Nutty rev's obsession.

The Rev. David Ajemian "was the greatest," said Jack Garvey, 72, before Mass at St. Patrick's Church in Stoneham, Mass. "The guy was unbelievable. If they showed me a roster of all the priests, he would be at the top. That's how good he was."

Video: Interview With Conan Stalker Pt. 1

Video: Interview With Conan Stalker Pt. 2

Garvey said Ajemian - who abruptly left St. Patrick's in June after a short stint - had a talent for preaching. "It came from the heart."

Patty Bourell, 59, said Ajemian was also pretty entertaining.

"He's funnier than Conan," she said. "He wanted to be a comedian, and to sing karaoke, too."

But, she said, "People didn't understand him. A lot of parishioners never got his point of view. He has a very dry sense of humor."

DAVID AJEMIAN
Checked into hospital.

Meanwhile, sources said Ajemian, 46, has been in McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., one of the leading psychiatric centers in the country, since Saturday night after disappearing for several hours that day.

A McLean spokeswoman said the hospital, as a rule, does not confirm the identities of any present or past patients. Under McLean's voluntary admission policy, Ajemian will be required to remain there at least five days.

Boston Archdiocese spokesman Terry Donilon would only say that the archdiocese was "providing pastoral care for all parties."

Ajemian's hospital admission capped a bizarre eight days that began Nov. 2, when cops busted him as he waited in line at Rockefeller Center to attend a taping of NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien."

It soon emerged that Ajemian had been writing bizarre, threatening notes to fellow Harvard alum O'Brien, 43, since last year.

In one letter, Ajemian described himself as "a stalker of a very different order than the kind you are used to dealing with," and in another called himself "your most dangerous fan."

Ajemian, who has bipolar disorder, was released on bail from Rikers Island on Friday, and returned to his parents' Boston home.

Additional reporting by C.J. Sullivan

Contact: dan.mangan@nypost.com