Rev. James Tamburrino, O.Carm.

Rev. James Tamburrino, O.Carm. – Assignment History

Summary of Case: James Tamburrino was ordained for the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (Carmelites) in 1998. There are indications that he worked with the Carmelite missions in Peru prior to ordination. In the late 1990s he was assigned to St. Simon Stock parish in the Bronx.

Tamburrino was accused in a March 2000 lawsuit, along with three St. Simon Stock priests, of having sexually abused a teenage boy during 1996-1998. The boy was working as a secretary in the parish rectory where he said the priests plied him with alcohol and "gay child porn," paid him for sexual favors, had him watch them perform group masturbation, then threatened to harm him if he told. The boy and his family reported the alleged abuse to the archdiocese and the Carmelites in 1999; they said they were pressured to sign a release. All four priests were transferred out of St. Simon Stock the same year. Tamburrino was assigned as chaplain to a psychiatric center while residing at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Middletown NY. The alleged victim claimed he was receiving anonymous harassing phone calls which led him to fear for his life and move out of state. After news reports about the case in June 2001, Tamburrino was suspended from ministry. He continued to be supported by his Order through at least 2002.

Tamburrino was living in Rome, NY in July 2005 when he was arrested for taking erotic photos of a 15-year-old boy at a Rome hotel, and approaching another teen boy for the same purpose. He was convicted in March 2006 and sentenced in June 2006 to 5-15 years in state prison. He is a registered NY State Level 2 Sex Offender.

Ordained: 1998

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Allegations	State/ Country	Position	Notes
pre-1996			• May have been disciplined for sexual misconduct while in Peru.	Peru		Per Spokeo.com in June 2017, a James J Tamburrino, age 49, who lived in Rome, Middletown and Bronx NY, as well as Boca Raton FL and Washington DC, also went by the name "Bro. Tamburrino."
1996	1999	St. Simon Stock	New York (Bronx) • Accused in a March 2000 lawsuit, along with three other St. Simon Stock priests, of the sexual abuse of a teenage boy during 1996-1998. The other priests were pastor Ruben Rodruiguez, Esteban Rodruiguez and John Albino. The boy was working as a secretary in the rectory when he allegedly was paid by the priests for sexual favors. He said he was plied with alcohol and "gay child pornography," that he witnessed the priests engage in group masturbation, and that he was threatened with harm if he told. He claimed, too, to have been receiving anonymous harrassing phone calls which led him to fear for his life and move out of state.	NY		This assignment is per news reports. Tamburrino in not indexed before the 1999 Directory, nor is he listed in the New York pages as at St. Simon Stock or as at his next assignment. The Directories show his ordination year as 1998. The boy and his family said they reported abuse by the three priests in 1999 to the archdiocese and to Carmelite superiors and that they were pressured to sign a release. All four priests were transferred out of St. Simon Stock in 1999. The lawsuit was eventually settled.
1999	June 2001	Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center	Middletown	NY	chaplain	The St. Simon Stock allegations became public in June 2001; Tamburrino was subsequently removed from this assignment and suspended by his Order.
1999 Archdiocese of New York Archbishop was	2002	Our Lady of Mount Carmel	Middletown • Tamburrino was arrested in September 2002 and charged with the aggravated harassment and stalking of an upstate New York man and his family. The two had met at a lower-Manhattan nightclub. He was still being supported by the Carmelites at that point.	NY	6/7, 5/6 In residence.	Our Lady of Mount Carmel had a school with 286-288 students, and a CCD program with 450 students. It also had missions: Our Lady of the Assumption in Bloomingburgh and St. Paul's in Bullville.
2002			Rome • In July 2005 Tamburrino was arrested after taking erotic photos of a 15-year-old boy, and for approaching another teen boy for the same. He was found guilty in March 2006, He was sentenced in June 2006 to 5-15 years in state prison.	NY		Tamburrino is registered as a New York State Level 2 sex offender.

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 2000-2002).

• Lawsuit Stunner: Bx. Priests Used Teen As Sex Toy, By Douglas Montero, New York Post, June 23, 2001
• Stunned Parish Stands by Its Priest in Boy-Sex Case, By Maria Alvarez, Douglas Montero and Hallie Levine, New York Post, June 24, 2001
• Losing Faith in the Clergy - Bronx Priest's Hollow Words Gloss Over Sex Scandal, By Rod Dreher, New York Post, June 25, 2001
• Priest-Sex Suit Makes Dad Pariah, By Douglas Montero and Rod Dreher, New York Post, June 28, 2001
• Church Still Standing behind Busted Priest, By Douglas Montero, New York Post, September 14, 2002
• Ex-Priest Accused of Stalking, By By Maeleeke J. Lavan, Poughkeepsie Journal, September 14, 2002
• Poughkeepsie Journal 09.21.02
• USA Today 11.11.02
• Defrocked Priest from Rome Faces Sex Charges, Utica Observer-Dispatch, July 8, 2005
• Stalking Charges Reduced, By Maeleeke Lavan, New York Post, July 11, 2005
• Ex-Priest from Rome Denies Sex Charges, By Rocco LaDuca, Utica Observer-Dispatch, December 15, 2005
• Ex-Priest Claims Entrapment, By Rocco Laduca, Utica Observer-Dispatch, February 10, 2006
• Jury Convicts Ex-Priest of Photographing Naked Teens, Newsday (Utica, NY), March 30, 2006
• Ex-Priest Awaits Verdict in Sex Case, By Rocco DeLuca, Utica Observer-Dispatch, March 30, 2006
• Former Priest Found Guilty of Sex Charges, By Rocco LaDuca, Observer-Dispatch, March 30, 2006
• Ex-Priest Gets Lengthy Jail Sentence for Sex Crimes, Newsday, June 6, 2006
• Former Priest Sentenced on Sex-Related Charges, By Rocco LaDuca, Utica Observer-Dispatch, June 7, 2006
• Spokeo.com, June 1, 2017
• James Tamburrino, nysexoffenders.com, accessed June 1, 2017

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Tamburrino's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on June 1, 2017.