NEW JERSEY
The Record
MONDAY FEBRUARY 10, 2014
BY JIM NORMAN AND JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD
Molinelli ‘troubled’ by friends’ comments in abuse case
Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said Sunday he would continue to monitor the comments of a confessed child-abusing Roman Catholic priest for evidence that he may have violated his agreement to never again profess his innocence.
The Rev. Michael Fugee, who has a history of violating a court order that he stay away from children, and of recanting a previous confession, agreed he would not deny his guilt as part of a deal last October to avoid prosecution and a possible prison sentence.
However, on Oct. 31, the day after he signed the agreement, he told Michael and Amy Lenehan, two of his most ardent supporters, that he had not repeatedly molested a teenager over a two-year period, but had only confessed because “my attorney said that I was sure to go to jail,” Michael Lenehan told The Record.
“The involvement of the Lenehans continues to trouble me,” Molinelli said in a telephone interview on Sunday. “I would prefer it if they would just stay out of it and keep quiet. I don’t know what they are trying to do, but I don’t think they are helping Fugee.”
The prosecutor added: “Our office knows a lot more about this case than the Lenehans do. I wish they would just be quiet and mind their own business.”
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