Supporters of Accused Staten Island Priest Trying to Spare Him a Trial, Staten Island Advance, August 14, 2009

Supporters of Accused Staten Island Priest Trying to Spare Him a Trial

Staten Island Advance
August 14, 2009

http://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2009/08/supporters_of_accused_staten_i.html

Rev. William Blasingame was arrested in April on charges that he stole $84,000 from two church bank accounts.
Photo by Chad Rachman

Hoping to spare him a trial and possible prison sentence, supporters of Staten Island's Rev. William Blasingame have started raising funds to pay back the $84,000 he is charged with stealing from his congregation.

Father Blasingame, rector of St. Paul's Memorial Church, an Episcopal congregation in Stapleton, was arrested in April on charges that he stole the money from two church bank accounts beginning in January 2005. He could face up to 15 years in prison.

At a meeting two weeks ago with his client and a group of supporters, including Joseph Madory, vice president of Victory State Bank, and North Shore Democratic doyenne Mac O'Callaghan, Father Blasingame's attorney, James Hasson, said he hopes that if the priest could pay back the money, the district attorney's office would drop the charges.

"That's not necessarily true," said District Attorney Dan Donovan. While he said his office "looks for restitution in any criminal case," it is usually "part of a sentence when a person commits a crime. It would not exonerate any criminal prosecution."

Father Blasingame's supporters are willing to give it a try. They set up the Friends of Father Blasingame, registered with the County Clerk's office and opened an account at Victory State Bank. Mrs. O'Callaghan, a Stapleton resident who is not affiliated with St. Paul's, made the first $1,000 deposit yesterday.