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	Staten Island Cleric Accused of Thieving Had Lowered Profile By John Annese Staten Island Advance April 8, 2009 http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1239190215206220.xml&coll=1 STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In his three-plus decades as pastor of St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church, the Rev. William Blasingame had become a prominent, outspoken presence on the Staten Island scene, hosting the annual flower festival and "Lessons and Carols," meeting with politicians and luminaries, and raising funds to restore the venerable church. But in the months leading up to his arrest on charges he stole more than $84,000 from church funds, Father Blasingame started fading from the spotlight. Last Christmas, he was a no-show for the church's signature fundraiser. He had missed some masses, church officials said. And at the beginning of the year, he resigned as pastor, citing medical reasons. Father Blasingame's friends and neighbors said he was suffering from crippling back pain, but the church's senior leadership said he had also spent time in a New Jersey center that specializes in the treatment of chemical abuse and mental illness. "He's kind of receded from public view," a law enforcement source told the Advance yesterday. On Friday, authorities charged Father Blasingame with felony grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property -- alleging he stole money from two church funds to get plastic surgery, Botox injections, prescription drugs and expensive clothes. Though he was released without bail on Friday, the Episcopal priest has been keeping a low profile. The friend whose Vanderbilt Avenue address he'd provided to authorities told the Advance yesterday that he hadn't been at her house recently, that he's staying with various friends. His car, however, remained outside the Vanderbilt Avenue house. Attempts to reach him via phone were unsuccessful yesterday. "I think he's hiding. Wouldn't you hide?" asked the priest's lawyer, James Hasson, who represented him at his arraignment in Stapleton Criminal Court on Friday. Hasson said he spoke briefly yesterday to Father Blasingame. "All he said was, 'I don't know where they're getting all this nonsense from.'" And Hasson blasted church officials, senior warden Richard Mingoia in particular, for pursuing criminal charges. "Why are they letting this go to the district attorney? I think that's terrible," he said. "If you have a problem in-house, don't you take care of it?" The church, he said, has created a "media frenzy." Hasson added, "If your kid steals some money off the top of your dresser, is that a crime? If your wife takes money from your pocket, is that a crime?" Mingoia questioned Hasson's remarks about the alleged theft not being a crime. "Is he saying that he's a child? Is he admitting that he took money? Is he saying that every dollar that comes into the church belongs to the pastor?" Mingoia asked. "I don't understand the logic of his position." Mingoia added that he wasn't waging a vendetta against Father Blasingame, and said he hoped the end result would be restitution by the reverend. "We did what we thought was the right thing to do," Mingoia said yesterday. "We went to the hierarchy of the church, and they said go to the district attorney and we did." If the case goes to trial, Father Blasingame could face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted. "We will certainly make restitution a key element of any plea discussions," said William J. Smith, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan. Connie Lane, a longtime friend of Father Blasingame and a regular participant in the "Lessons and Carols" event, defended the priest. She said he had been suffering crippling back pain in recent years, and "seemed quite depressed for about a year or so." "This is a good man. I don't know what happened, but I know that this is a good man, and his prosecution is evil," she said. "I can't believe he'd done anything to harm that church." Neighbors of the Stapleton church said Father Blasingame had complained of back pain in recent months. "He's been extremely active publicly," said Don Rosen, a neighbor of the church on St. Paul's Avenue. "I think with the pain in his back, he was finding it more difficulty to handle his responsibilities." Rosen called news of the pastor's arrest "surprising and puzzling." "I'm horrified. He's a wonderful man and a good friend, and I'm horrified," Rosen said. He and other neighbors said they hadn't noticed any plastic surgery or fancy clothing. "We've been here for four years. I never saw him wearing new clothes, ever," said Andrea Divito, who lives across the street from the church. "He looked like a poor priest from a poor parish." She and her husband, Carl, urged people not to overlook Father Blasingame's good works during his time as St. Paul's pastor. "This guy's done 30 years of good stuff. We're all human," Carl Divito said. Still, he added, "If he did it, he did it. Don't get us wrong. We're not excusing him." John Annese is a news reporter for the Advance. He may be reached at annese@siadvance.com.
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