CARDINAL SINS

X-rated cleric accused of stealing from parishioners to pay for prostitutes

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BISHOP Emanuel Shaleta — a high-ranking member of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle of San Diego — is being investigated after being accused of embezzling church funds, authorities say. A spokesperson for the San Diego County Sheriff's Fraud Unit has confirmed lawmen are looking at allegations of “financial mishandling.”

The investigation follows a report from Catholic news site The Pillar claiming that documents suggest Iraqi-born Shaleta, 60, may have pocketed eight months of cash rental payments amounting to $427,345 for a property owned by the church, then repaid the money with funds from a parish charity assistance account.