Focus switches to priest’s finances in Maurizio trial

By Phil Ray
Altoona Mirror
September 15, 2015

http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/619858/Focus-switches-to-priest-s-finances-in-Maurizio-trial.html?nav=742

 JOHNSTOWN - When Father Joseph D. Maurizio Jr. of Somerset County was arrested last year for allegedly sexually abusing Honduran children, the prosecution determined he had assets of more than a million dollars, which he didn't report when requesting bail.

His failure to inform authorities of his worth - determined eventually to be more than $1.2 million by IRS agent Kevin Peprulak - not only cost him his freedom because bail was denied, but also resulted in three additional charges of money laundering.

As the priest's trial entered its second week on Monday, Maurizio's finances and his handling of funds that he used to aid an orphanage, ProNino in El Progreso, Honduras, became the focus of the trial. Peprulak said after Maurizio was charged with child sexual abuse and possession of child pornography, he began investigating Maurizio's finances.

He determined that Maurizio, who was pastor of Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish in Central City, was taking money from a charity called Honduran Interfaith Ministries and transferring it to ProNino.