Former Wyckoff Priest's Lawyer Seeks Hearing on Prosecutor's Charges - See More At: Http://www.northjersey.com/news/213290161_former_wyckoff_priest_s_lawyer_seeks_hearing_on_prosecutor_s_charges_for_priest_seeks_evidence_hearing.html#sthash.dgjqlj41.dpuf

By Jeff Green
The Record
June 27, 2013

http://www.northjersey.com/news/213290161_Former_Wyckoff_priest_s_lawyer_seeks_hearing_on_prosecutor_s_charges_for_priest_seeks_evidence_hearing.html

The lawyer representing the Rev. Michael Fugee in his contempt of court case requested a hearing scheduled for next month to get an early look at evidence that prosecutors have amassed in recent weeks.

The July 25 probable cause hearing, said Michael D'Alessio, the lawyer, is meant to compel the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office to present some evidence that Fugee allegedly failed to follow a legal ban on ministering to children. The priest signed the agreement with prosecutors and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark in 2007 as part of a deal to dismiss a decades-old case that he allegedly groped a 13-year-old Wyckoff boy.

Prosecutors are continuing their apparently far-reaching investigation in the Fugee case. So far, they have seized two computers from the priest's residence, conducted interviews and obtained thousands of pages of documents from the archdiocese, where Fugee worked in two office jobs until he resigned from the ministry last month, according to D'Alessio and prosecutors.

Fugee's lawyer said he requested the public hearing before Superior Court Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi to "find out the basis of the complaint." D'Alessio would not present his own evidence but would be able to cross-examine any witnesses who testified for the prosecution.

Prosecutors have said that Fugee violated the court order seven times by hearing children's confessions throughout New Jersey. But they have not said why Fugee was at some locations, such as a home in Bayville and a parish in Paramus where he was neither a resident nor assigned as a priest.

D'Alessio acknowledges that Fugee heard confessions, but says he never violated the agreement because he was always supervised. The agreement prohibits "unsupervised contact" with children or ministering to children as long as he remains a priest.

Prosecutor John Molinelli declined to say whether he would present Fugee's case to a grand jury for indictment before the hearing. But he said investigators still need to interview many people and secure more documents from the Newark Archdiocese that have not been turned over.

"They have refused to provide us many documents," Molinelli wrote in an email.

Michael Critchley, a criminal defense lawyer representing the archdiocese in the matter, declined to comment, expect to say he was "surprised and disappointed" that Molinelli discussed how he is pursuing the case pending presentation to the grand jury.

"The prosecutor should not be discussing grand jury proceedings, which are governed by the rules of secrecy," Critchley said. "That's criminal procedure 101."

Molinelli rebuffed the criticism, saying he never disclosed what was requested or received.

Prosecutors recently confirmed that they obtained 2,000 to 2,500 pages of records from the archdiocese related to Fugee's work history. Molinelli said the archdiocese did not resist a grand jury subpoena for the records. He would not characterize the records.

Jim Goodness, the archdiocese spokesman, said he believed those were all the files the church had on Fugee. He added that the archdiocese "cooperated as we said we would from the start."

Fugee was convicted in 2003 of groping a 13-year-old boy when he was an assistant pastor at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Wyckoff. The conviction was overturned in 2006 because of a judicial error, and to avoid a retrial he entered a special rehabilitation program for first-time offenders. He also signed the agreement to no longer work around children.

D'Alessio, Fugee's lawyer, has said prosecutors seized a desktop computer and laptop from the priest's residence at St. Antoninus Church in Newark when they executed a search warrant last month. He said Fugee is no longer living in the rectory.

Email: greenj@northjersey.com Twitter: Jeff_A_Green