Somerset Priest Accused of Sexual Abuse Remains in Detention
By Liz Zemba
A Somerset County priest accused of traveling to Honduras to have sex with a boy has assets of at least $1 million, it was revealed during an arraignment hearing Tuesday in Johnstown. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Keith Pesto ordered the Rev. Joseph Maurizio to remain in federal detention as a potential flight risk for 10 more days while his attorney, Steven Passarello of Altoona, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Haines gather information on bank accounts to which he has access. A federal grand jury on Oct. 7 indicted Maurizio, 62, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Angels in Central City, on charges of traveling to Honduras to have sex with an orphaned teen boy and possessing material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor. Maurizio has been in the Cambria County jail since he was arrested Sept. 25. Passarello told Pesto the priest would surrender his passport and have two investment accounts containing $900,000 frozen if he is released, with the proviso the money could be tapped only to pay for his defense. Maurizio has investment accounts, one of which is an IRA, that are the result of “smart investments,” Passarello said after the hearing. Maurizio may have other assets, including another bank account from which $127,000 was recently withdrawn, Haines said. “This is a brand-new account we have just discovered.” The $127,000 was withdrawn to fund Maurizio's defense, Passarello said. Maurizio was one of three signatories on church accounts, but he has been removed from most of them, Passarello said. Maurizio is accused of abusing minor children under the guise of doing mission work for a self-run charity based in Johnstown, Humanitarian Interfaith Ministries. Tax forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service for 2012, the most recent year available, indicate the charity has net assets of more than $400,000 and spends about $93,000 annually to minister to “orphaned and abandoned children in the Western Hemisphere.” Maurizio has no access to those accounts without the signature of another official from the organization and they would not be available to post as bond, Passarello said. Maurizio's family owns a $181,000 farm outside Windber, a property that could be posted, the attorney told the court. Haines declined comment after the hearing. Honduran children in 2009 told Maurizio's defense team the allegations were false, Passarello said. Thirty of Maurizio's parishioners, friends and family packed the small courtroom to hear Passarello enter a plea of not guilty on the priest's behalf. Some said they were there to support the priest, whom the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has suspended from pastoral duties. The grand jury indictment accuses Maurizio of traveling to Honduras between Feb. 26 and March 13, 2009, to have sex with a boy identified as Minor No. 1. It alleges he had at least one image of child pornography in his possession on Sept. 12, the day federal agents executed search warrants at his Windber home and the parish rectory. In a criminal complaint unsealed Sept. 25, federal officials said the priest visited the orphanage at various times between 1999 and 2009, promising candy and cash to orphaned boys so the priest could watch them shower, fondle them or have sex with them. The orphanage conducted an internal investigation when a staff member in 2009 overheard boys arguing over whether to report that “Father Joe” had solicited them for sexual favors, according to the complaint. On Tuesday, Pesto said prosecutors have a “voluminous” amount of material to review. A grand jury indictment said prosecutors were seeking the forfeiture of Maurizio's laptop, four desktop computers, a cellphone, a camera, three thumb drives, 247 CDs and DVDs, a dozen VHS tapes and 12 movie film rolls. Liz Zemba is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-601-2166 or lzemba@tribweb.com.
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