WORCESTER (MA)
MichNews
By Matt C. Abbott
MichNews.com
Oct 25, 2005
Stephen Brady, founder and president of the Petersburg, Ill.-based Roman Catholic Faithful, a lay watchdog group, says that Father James Aquino, pastor of Our Lady of Loreto Parish in Worcester, Mass., is lying about a citation he received in 2004 for lewd conduct while in Las Vegas.
According to an Oct. 25, 2005 story in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Aquino, 66, “told several hundred parishioners gathered at the Massasoit Road church, ‘that I never, never, never engaged in any sexual activity of any kind. I was never arrested, I was never handcuffed and I was never taken to the police station.’”
Aquino “acknowledged receiving a citation for lewd conduct, obstructing and providing false information … while vacationing in Las Vegas with Monsignor Louis P. Piermarini, calling the charges ‘false accusations.’ After a nearly 11-month continuance, the charges were dismissed Sept. 6 in the Justice Court of Las Vegas during which Rev. Aquino met several conditions, including counseling and 50 hours of community service,” according to the story.
Aquino admitted only to entering an adult bookstore, calling it a “very stupid mistake.”
But Brady isn’t buying Aquino’s explanation.