BINGHAMTON (NY)
Virtue Online
By Brian Liberatore
Press & Sun-Bulletin
BINGHAMTON, NY: (January 15, 2006)--An Owego rector is suing the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York for $4.35 million, saying a bishop retaliated against him in an attempt to cover up sexual misconduct allegations the rector had brought to his attention.
David Bollinger, the rector of St. Paul's in Owego for more than 20 years, has been barred from his church for nearly a year by the diocese, which was served with the suit on Thursday. The diocese accused Bollinger of misusing church funds - a false accusation, Bollinger said, that has never led to charges.
"It was totally manufactured," Bollinger said. "A falsehood on their part to create a diversion away from what they had done to me and what they were doing to me."
The lawsuit, filed in Tioga County Superior Court, names Bishop Gladstone Adams, the diocese and the controller at the time, whom Bollinger claims broke into his personal bank account.