UTICA (NY)
Newsday
August 15, 2005, 6:06 PM EDT
UTICA, N.Y. -- A federal judge has dismissed racketeering claims against an upstate priest, Bishop Howard Hubbard and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany by a man who claims the priest sexually abused him.
U.S. District Judge David Hurd ruled Monday that Steven Hall failed to prove a pattern of extended racketeering activity that caused him injury. The suit also named a state trooper, two attorneys and the priest's secretary.
Hall, who described himself as a former homeless drug addict, had accused the Rev. David Tressic of molesting him several times over four years when he worked as a church custodian.
Tressic, who has denied the allegations, served at Sacred Heart Church in Gloversville, 40 miles northwest of Albany. The priest, then 60, took a leave of absence in August 2003 after the allegations were made public.
Hall was indicted on an extortion charge two months later. Fulton County Court Judge Polly Hoye threw out the felony count, saying no money was extorted. She also wrote that the evidence was not overwhelming.