Upper East Side Pastor Accused Of Skimming From Church Donations
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- An Upper East Side pastor has been accused of stealing cash from the church offering box.
As CBS2's Sonia Rincon reported, church members said they caught the man red-handed on video.
Footage shows a man going through money in a drawer, counting it, and helping himself to some.
Members of the Evangelical Rock Church on East 62nd Street, said the man in the video is their church leader, Pastor Daniel Iampaglia, 72. He was allegedly stealing from offerings that are supposed to go to missions.
Board member Sue Cruz said they have suspected theft for a while.
"So we put extra 20s, we marked them, we took photographs of them, and sure enough on Sunday, when the offering was given to him to deposit, 20s were missing," Cruz said.
They put in the hidden camera and confronted him with the video.
"We gave him the opportunity to walk away with dignity," Cruz said.
And asked him in writing to step down.
"The day that we decided to give him the letter and ask him to resign, he ripped up the letter," Cruz said.
Another member took a picture, and a video when the police were called.
Police eventually charged Iampaglia with petit larceny for the theft of $238. His attorney Joseph Indusi offered a statement.
"He adamantly denies any allegations of wrongdoing and looks forward to his day in court," he said.
Iampaglia and several church members have been in a bitter, ongoing legal dispute. Those members still come to worship every Sunday, but they skip his morning service. They have their own meeting every Sunday afternoon without him.
"There's a blatant piece of maneuvering to gain control of the real estate of Rock Church," church board treasurer, Joseph McGee said.
McGee said it's obvious that the building is valuable, and the legal dispute has split the church into two groups. He and Cruz and others have been trying to get Iampaglia fired for more than a year, but another group is loyal to the pastor. Cruz said that group was show the incriminating video.
"They turned around and they didn't want to look at it. And when we told them what happened they didn't want to hear anything. They didn't want to talk to us, and walked out, and that's the most pathetic, and sad, and hurtful thing," Cruz said.
Iampaglia is still leading Sunday services, and has called both sides to a meeting.
The pastor is supposed to be in court on the petit larceny charge on Tuesday.
