Johnstown Priest Faces New Federal Charges in Connection with Trips to Honduras

By Torsten Ove
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
April 7, 2015

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/east/2015/04/07/Johnstown-priest-faces-new-charges-in-connection-with-trips-to-Honduras-to-assault/stories/201504070193

A federal grand jury has indicted a Johnstown-area priest already accused of traveling to Honduras for sex with a boy on more charges pertaining to other sex trips to molest boys, as well as three counts of transmitting funds into and out of the U.S. in furtherance of his criminal activity.

A superseding indictment filed Tuesday named the Rev. Joseph Maurizio, 69, who remains in federal custody from the earlier charges.

A judge had ordered him detained in November as a danger to the community and also because federal agents feared he would use church funds to flee the country.

The criminal division of the IRS had been examining Father Maurizio’s finances, but it's not clear exactly what money the priest is accused of transferring out of the U.S. and to what end.

Nor is the source of his money known. Father Maurizio had told a pretrial services officer that his net worth was $107,000 when agents said it is really about $1 million.

He had previously been charged with illicit sex with one minor in Honduras, as well as possession of illicit images, but the new charges add other incidents of sex tourism dating to 2004. The new money-transferring counts pertain to the years 2006 through 2009.

Father Maurizio has been suspended from his church, Our Lady Queen of Angels.

Torsten Ove: tove@post-gazette.com First Published April 7, 2015 6:59 PM