Still Running Off at the Keyboard

WATERGATE ON SUPERIOR

The former top lawyer and chief financial officer at the Cleveland Catholic Diocese testified Monday that he approved $250,000 in secret payments to his successor.

But the Rev. John Wright denied authorizing a diocesan accountant, Anton Zgoznik, to pay another $784,000 to Wright's replacement.

Government prosecutors considered the $784,000 to be kickbacks and called Wright to testify at Zgoznik's trial in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. Zgoznik is charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, money laundering, mail fraud and obstruction of justice.

Wright's replacement, Joseph Smith, will stand trial later. He faces the same charges.

Wright said he approved a $250,000 payment to Smith in 1996, to be made over five years, to supplement his assistant's salary and persuade him not to leave the diocese.

Smith had the benefit of an advocate, Zgoznik, with close ties to Wright. The priest had presided over Zgoznik's wedding and baptized his son. Zgoznik convinced Wright that Smith could easily double his $140,000 salary in the private sector and that he was worth keeping.

Wright vowed to keep Smith's bonus a secret from everyone - even Bishop Anthony Pilla.

"I was told no one would ever know about it," Wright testified. "I didn't want other people coming to me saying I gave Joe a raise, I want a raise, too."

But when a whistleblower exposed the Smith-Zgoznik kickback scheme in 2004, Wright faced the unpleasant prospect of confessing his deeds to Pilla, now retired. Wright said he was not punished.

There's more. Do go read the whole thing. By the time I finished the article, I had the Soporanos theme song running through my head. Fortunately no one has used the Moltisanti solution. Yet.