PENNSYLVANIA
International Business Times
By Joe Gamp
April 3, 2016
A federal prosecutor in the US may file a racketeering lawsuit against a Roman Catholic diocese after a state grand jury found two bishops guilty of covering up the abuse of hundreds of children.
Reports suggest that more than 50 clergy abused hundreds of children over a 40-year period at the Altoona-Johnstown diocese – based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – following the conviction of Reverend Joseph Maurizo.
According to Press Association, 71-year-old Somerset County priest Maurizo was last year convicted of molesting two street children during missionary trips to Honduras. He was sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison, fined $50,000 and forced to pay his victims $10,000 each.
US Attorney David Hickton said on 1 April that the ongoing investigation over whether diocesan officials engaged in a pattern of criminal activity that would fall under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), normally used to prosecute organised crime.
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