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	Convicted Priest Asks Again to Delay Start of Prison Term By Stephen P. Clark The Advocate July 3, 2008 http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/localnews/ci_9772853 Days before a Catholic priest is scheduled to begin serving a three-year sentence for embezzling $1.3 million from his Darien church, he asked a federal judge for the fifth time to postpone the date he reports to prison. The Rev. Michael Jude Fay, former pastor of St. John Roman Catholic Church on the Post Road, wants to delay the start of his prison term for at least 60 days so he can receive an experimental drug to treat his prostate cancer. He pleaded guilty in September, was sentenced in December and, after the delays, was supposed to begin his prison term Tuesday. U.S. District Court Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven, who has granted two delays, last week ruled against Fay's request for a six-month postponement. He failed to provide "any medical testing update, any medical rationale" and any documents showing that the Bureau of Prisons cannot administer the drug, Arterton said. In the latest request, Fay's attorney, Lawrence Hopkins of New Haven, filed a motion yesterday that included sealed documents from the Bureau of Prisons stating that it has not determined whether it can administer the drug, and from Fay's psychologist suggesting that Fay will face "a very limited lifespan" if he is denied it. A separate motion said the documents were sealed because they are "sensitive and confidential communications." The U.S. attorney's office declined to comment. Hopkins did not return several phone calls. Fay told the Darien Times this week he would die in prison if he is not allowed to take the drug. "God forbid I would have to go through with this," Fay said. "My 36-month sentence, or whatever it is, becomes a death sentence for me." Fay's fate again lies with Arterton, who has shown leniency for his medical condition in previous rulings. Fay was scheduled to report to prison April 2, but Arterton postponed it until May 19 to get information from Fay's doctors and the Bureau of Prisons. At a hearing in May, Arterton granted Fay a reprieve until July 8 to determine whether the bureau will allow him to participate in the clinical study for the new cancer drug. Fay is being treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. His oncologist, Dr. Ethan Basch, has testified that Fay could continue to participate in the study from prison if the bureau gives him the pill he must take daily and he makes appoint ments at Memorial Sloan-Kettering every 28 days. If he misses a visit, the company developing the drug may drop Fay from the study. The cancer has spread to Fay's bones and lymph nodes, Basch has said. Fay requested a six month-delay last month because he said nothing had changed since the last hearing in May. The U.S. attorney's office opposed the request in a letter, saying that is "not only inaccurate, it is disingenuous. It makes no sense to further delay a surrender date for six months merely because a defendant's medical providers are in no hurry to abide by the court's previous directive." In her June 23 ruling against Fay's fourth request, Arterton said Fay did not give the Bureau of Prisons information about the cancer drug so it can determine whether it would be able to administer it. One of the sealed documents filed yesterday is a letter dated June 25 from the regional counsel for the Bureau of Prison stating that an agreement had not been reached on a proposed confidentiality arrangement related to the review of the study protocol by the bureau. The bureau must finish reviewing the study protocol before allowing Fay to participate. Hopkins wrote in his motion that that means "it will take some time to establish whether, if ever, the BOP will allow the administration of the experimental and lifesaving drug." Fay pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of money obtained by fraud last year and was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Prosecutors said he stole $1.3 million from his Darien parish from 1999 to 2006, funneling much of it into secret bank accounts. Records obtained by The Advocate show Fay used a church credit card to purchase designer clothing, Cartier jewelry, limousine rides and Ethan Allen furniture. Many of the purchases were made in New York City, Philadelphia - where his wedding planner boyfriend, Clifford Fantini, lives - and Florida, where the couple owned a condominium. In December 2006, Fay turned over his share in the Fort Lauderdale condominium to his former parish, but the church has not sold the property because Fantini still owns the other half. Fay denied his relationship with Fantini to the Darien Times. "He is not a boyfriend. He is not even a wedding planner," he is quoted as saying. "It has affected his life in a terrible way. People Google his name and that is what they get."
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