By Ann Givens
Newsday [Rockville Centre NY]
May 21, 2007
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-liverd0522,0,5056802.story?coll=ny-top-headlines
The Diocese of Rockville Centre could be on the hook for nearly all of the $11.45 million that a Nassau County jury awarded to two people who were molested by a church youth minister beginning in 1999, lawyers and experts said.
That's because of one key word in the jury verdict, experts said. When the jury ruled that the diocese, St. Raphael's Church in East Meadow and its priest, the Rev. Thomas Haggerty, acted with "reckless" disregard for the safety of others by failing to protect children from their youth minister, it left the diocese vulnerable to footing the entire bill, experts said.
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"Because the jury found that they acted recklessly, the plaintiffs are permitted to collect money from any deep pocket they can find," said Lawrence Carra of Mineola, who represented the youth minister, Matthew Maiello, in the civil case.
Still, Michael Dowd, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he will make Maiello pay a portion of the judgment -- in little bits for years to come.
"We want to make sure this is going to hang over his head the rest of his life, because what he did to my clients will hang over their heads for the rest of their lives," said Dowd, of Manhattan.
The jury arrived at its verdict Friday after eight days of deliberations. It found that Maiello was 70 percent liable for the abuse, and that the church, Haggerty and diocese was 30 percent liable. Dowd said he will go after the diocese for far more than that 30 percent, though he would not be more specific.
Maiello, 33, served more than 2 years in prison after he admitted forcing the plaintiffs -- a man and woman now in their 20s -- and two other teenagers to have sex with him and each other. Both plaintiffs, who are not being identified by Newsday because they are victims of sex crimes, sued the diocese, Haggerty and the church because they did not do anything, even though they knew about the abuse.
Even if the diocese is left to pay the bulk of the award, a spokesman for the church said the money will come from insurance and from a special fund that was established 25 years ago to cover non-insurable emergencies. It will not come from the collection plate or from individual parishes, he said.
"No monies will be taken from other diocesan sources," said diocese spokesman Sean Dolan.
The diocese has said it will not appeal the verdict. That means that the plaintiffs will next sign a release saying that if the defendants pay a certain amount of money, they will be released from all other liability in the case. After that, the defendants will write the plaintiffs their checks.
"There's not a worry frown on my face," Dowd said. "I don't think this suit is going to impoverish the Rockville Centre Diocese in any way."
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