Tuesday, March 21, 2006
WILL THE VATICAN BE SUED ?
A federal appeals court in Jackson has tossed out one of the state of Mississippi's theories that the Vatican was connected to the fraud scheme of financier Martin Frankel.
State Insurance Commissioner George Dale sued the Vatican in 2003, claiming it was liable for the actions of Monsignor Emilio Colagiovanni.
Colagiovanni was given a suspended sentence and five years' probation on Mississippi charges related to his role in Frankel's theft of $200 million from insurance companies in five states. Colagiovanni pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for attempting to deceive regulators about the source of the money Frankel used to buy one of those insurance companies.
Frankel bought insurance companies in Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, then stole their assets to finance a wealthy lifestyle that included a two-mansion compound in Greenwich, Conn. He was a fugitive for months after the scandal broke in 1999 before he was captured in Germany.
Frankel had formed a bogus Catholic charity, the St. Francis of Assisi Foundation, in 1998. To throw insurance regulators off his trail, Frankel sought to use the foundation to launder money through a legitimate Vatican charity headed by Colagiovanni.
Colagiovanni agreed to use Monitor Ecclesiasticus and its Vatican bank account to handle money from St. Francis and to vouch for Frankel's charity with regulators. In exchange, Colagiovanni was to get $5 million to use on charitable projects. The Vatican denied ever endorsing or cooperating with Frankel's scheme, according to court records.
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Is this the last word on the subject, or is there still an option for the Insurance Commissioner to pursue?
