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	Report: Priest Sued for Molestation Still Drives Police-Style Car Sun Journal March 26, 2007 http://www.sunjournal.com/story/204805-3/NewEnglandNews/Report_priest_sued_for_molestation_still_drives_policestyle_car/ Bloomfield, Conn. (AP) — A priest accused in lawsuits of child molestation continues to drive a police-style car like the one his accusers say he used to lure young boys, the Hartford Courant reported Sunday. Stephen Foley, a former fire and police chaplain, has a black Ford Crown Victoria with emergency lights in the grill and front and back windows as well as scanners and antennas, despite having no associations with any police or fire agencies, the newspaper reported. Many of the men who have accused Foley of molesting them when they were boys in the 1970s say they were fascinated by his cruiser-like vehicle. But they say once they got into the car with him, he offered them alcohol and molested them. Foley, who lives at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield and parks his car there, was never charged criminally because the statute of limitations had expired by the time the accusers brought the allegations forward. But the Archdiocese of Hartford has paid millions of dollars to settle claims by Foley's accusers. Walter Hampton, Foley's lawyer, said Sunday that he had not seen the Courant's story and could not comment on it. "Father Foley adamantly denies any of the allegations that have been lodged against him," Hampton said. His accusers say they are outraged that he is still driving such a car. A state lawmaker says a criminal investigation into how he obtained it may be warranted. "It makes me sick to my stomach to think he's driving around in the same car as he was back then," one of the accuser, known only as John Doe, who received an $850,000 settlement from the archdiocese last year, said in court documents. "I have visions of him still doing the same things he did to me to other kids." State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, said Foley should be prosecuted if he was not authorized to buy the car. He said Public Safety Commissioner John Danaher should investigate, or ask the chief state's attorney to step in. Foley has lived at St. Thomas Seminary for the past 14 years. He was stripped of his authority to wear the Roman collar and participate in public ministry in 2002, when the first lawsuits against him were filed. He has no official duties as a priest, but gets free room and board, health insurance and a monthly stipend from the archdiocese, the newspaper reported. The Rev. John Gatzak, an archdiocese spokesman, said church officials are concerned and will "follow up" on the car issue. Gatzak noted that the archdiocese has never received a request to ban Foley from driving a police-type car. Gatzak said that of the 11 sexual abuse complaints against Foley, some resulted in lawsuits and others were settled out of court. A $22 million settlement the archdiocese agreed to in 2005 over allegations against 14 priests resolved three of the lawsuits against Foley. Gatzak refused to say exactly how much money the church has paid over the years to settle complaints against Foley. A state police report in 1994 said the Crown Victory was a key part in the priest's ability to befriend young boys. Investigators said Foley targeted boys who were interested in becoming police officers and firefighters, and offered to drive them to emergency scenes. The boys "were fascinated with Foley's car because of the lights, siren and radio, and were thrilled to go to a scene 'code-3,"' investigators wrote. Foley bought a new Crown Victoria equipped with police gear in 2000, paying nearly $21,000 and apparently using a fire chiefs association's name without permission, the Courant reported. The car's title and registration list the owner as the New England Association of Fire Chiefs, but Foley signed the documents and gave his own West Hartford post office for the association's address, the newspaper reported. After a few months, Foley transferred the car's ownership to himself, and two years later he traded it for a new, fully loaded Crown Victoria under a deal only available to law enforcement officials, according to Department of Motor Vehicle records. The new car is the one he drives today, the newspaper reported. Foley had served as chaplain for several local fire departments, state police, the fire chiefs' association and the Hartford County mutual aid association. Meanwhile, another one of Foley's accusers, Tony Lembo, has scheduled a news conference Monday at the state Capitol on how the criminal investigation of Foley was handled by state police in the early 1990s.
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