BishopAccountability.org
	Elite Catholic Hs Xaverian Boots Popular Teacher over "Inappropriate" Relationship with Student a Decade Ago By John Doyle, Rebecca Rosenberg and Dan Mangan New York Post March 18, 2011 http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/elite_catholic_student_xaverian_i7RX73XSeSzc084wsaIo0J A popular teacher at Brooklyn’s elite Xaverian HS has been fired for alleged "inappropriate" conduct with a student at the Catholic boys’ school a decade ago, The Post has learned. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office also has been notified about the claim against Joseph Appel, 33, who until his recent firing was dean of Xaverian’s honors program and its drama director, according to a Brooklyn Diocese spokesman. Xaverian officials disclosed Appel’s termination to students at an assembly Monday and in a letter to parents. "They told us he did something inappropriate with a student 10 years ago," said a student at the Bay Ridge school. Another student said, "They called it ‘inappropriate’ conduct with a former student." Appel, a Bay Ridge resident who graduated from Xaverian in 1995, began working there as a teacher a decade ago after graduating from Seton Hall University. Current students and an alumnus yesterday said Appel was well-liked, and that they never suspected him of misbehaving with boys. But last month, Xaverian officials learned of the allegation, said Brooklyn Diocese spokesman Msgr. Kieran Harrington. Officials at the school — which is sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers Catholic order — then notified the diocese and the Brooklyn DA. A source familiar with the situation said the school found the allegation credible after a private investigator Xaverian had retained looked into the claim. Xaverian President Robert Alesi yesterday said, "Mr. Appel has been terminated," but refused to discuss the reasons. "We took swift action," Alesi said. "We consider it our fundamental responsibility to protect each of our students." A flustered Appel yesterday told a reporter, "I’m not giving you a comment." The DA’s office said there is no pending criminal case against Appel. A mother who was picking up her son at Xaverian — whose renowned athletic almuni include basketball superstar Chris Mullin and former San Francisco Giants player Rich Aurilia — said she found the situation disturbing. "They’re telling everyone and the kids, ‘This is all we know,’ and they won’t specify. I’m a little concerned," the mom said. "You pay $10,000 [in annual tuition] . . . and this is what we have to deal with. It’s terrible." Appel’s firing comes less than a year after Xaverian’s former varsity baseball coach, retired NYPD officer Dennis Canale, pleaded guilty to promoting gambling, for which he was sentenced to pay a fine between $500 and $1,000, the Brooklyn DA’s office said. Former Xaverian freshman baseball coach Gerard Bruzzese — who is accused of being the ringleader of a betting Web site that Canale allegedly was involved in — is fighting related charges of conspiracy and promoting gambling.
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