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Category: Black Collar Crime

Black Collar Crime: Baptist Pastor Mitzi Bickers Charged with Accepting Bribes from City Contractors

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pastor mitzi bickers

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Mitzi Bickers, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, stands accused of accepting bribes to steer city of Atlanta contracts to several contractors. According to a 2017 Project Q Atlanta article, Bickers is a lesbian. She is also a chaplain for the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

In handcuffs and leg irons, The Rev. Mitzi Bickers made her first appearance in federal court Thursday to face charges that she took $2 million in bribes to steer city of Atlanta contracts to at least two contractors from 2010 to 2015.

Bickers pleaded not guilty to the 11-count indictment and answered yes or no questions from U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Russell Vineyard.

….

Prosecutors accused the former city of Atlanta human services director of taking money from contractors to help them win city contracts and spending the money on a lavish lifestyle that included: a $775,000 home in Jonesboro; a $46,000 Denali luxury SUV; $45,000 worth of waverunner jet skis; and vacations to Aruba, Disney resorts and on Carnival cruise lines.

….

The 11-count indictment alleges Bickers used her influence at City Hall to steer contracts to Elvin “E.R.” Mitchell Jr. and Charles P. Richards Jr., both when she worked for the city and after she left in 2013. Mitchell and Richards have each pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the on-going investigation.
At a 2 p.m. press conference, U.S. Attorney Byung “BJay” Pak urged others who participated in the conspiracy to come forward, accept responsibility and cooperate with the investigation.

“To those employees who may have taken cash, gratuity or other items of value from the individual named in this indictment, now is your time,” he said. “There is a very small window of opportunity for you to help yourself in accepting full responsibility for being part of this conspiracy and for cooperating with the government. That is the only way you can assure you can minimize your criminal exposure.”

….

In the 23-page indictment, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta lay out a complicated web of payments made from various companies controlled by Mitchell to companies under Bicker’s control. Multiple payments in relatively small amounts were made by Mitchell to Bickers in an attempt to hide the nature of the transactions, according to the indictment.

….

“Bickers conspired to enrich herself and others by soliciting and accepting payments directly and indirectly from Mitchell and Richards and their companies in exchange for her agreement to represent their businesses and to obtain lucrative City of Atlanta contracts for their companies through bribery,” the indictment says.

Bickers’ purchase of the $775,000 home in Jonesboro on her $57,000 city salary has long been the subject of media reports since the bribery investigation became public in January 2017. The indictment goes into detail about how the home was purchased: Mitchell made $200,000 in cash deposits directly to the seller; from June 20-27, 2011, Mitchell made 12 deposits of $9,500 or more in at least four different bank accounts owned or controlled by Bickers, along with another deposit of $85,000; on June 27-28, Richards made wire transfers of $53,000 and $20,000 into Bickers’ controlled accounts.

Bickers spent that money on the house almost immediately, according to the indictment, making wire transfers of $81,000, $104,000 and $114,000 to her closing attorney in a two-day span.

She is also charged with tax fraud in that year.

“In her 2011 tax return, Bickers represented … that her total income for 2011 was $57,986,” the indictment says. “Based on the false representations in her return, the IRS issued Bickers a tax refund of $3,924.”

The bribery scheme continued in 2014, with Bickers helping Mitchell secure some $5.5 million in snow removal contracts from the city, despite Mitchell’s company not owning a snow plow. In return, Mitchell paid her about $1.4 million, according to the indictment.

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Black Collar Crime: Ex-Baptist Pastor George Baker Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

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george baker

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

George Baker, an ex-Southern Baptist pastor and seminary professor, was arrested March 23, 2018 for possession of child pornography.

The Burleson Star reports:

On the surface, George Baker appeared to have everything. A job helping others, a beautiful fiancé who he was building a life with and doing some university-level teaching. All of that came to a crashing halt on March 23 when he was arrested for possession of child pornography.

“The entire time we were going out, he never mentioned that he had a problem,” Stephanie Conroy, Baker’s now ex-fiance, told the Star. “He said he was helping people addicted to porn, not that he himself had a problem.” [a problem? Is that what possessing child pornography is now, a “problem?’]

Conroy was checking email in a bedroom of the house they shared on Alsbury Blvd., when one of her children walked in and said that there were some police who wanted to speak with her.

“At first I sort of laughed it off, I thought he was making a joke,” Conroy said. “But I followed him into the kitchen and there were two police officers in there. At first I thought my oldest son had been in an accident, but then they told me that they had been investigating George for over a year.”

According to BPD Officer Wes Routson, Baker had uploaded a pornographic image of a child from his computer.

“We’ve been looking at him for awhile,” Routson said. “But one reason it took so long is that we had to send his computer off to be looked at. When you are doing forensic investigations on computers you have to get in line at the state for someone to do it, and thats why it dragged out.”

Baker was arrested and transferred to the Johnson County jail, where he posted bond for $100,000.

Baker had most recently been working for ‘Feed the Right Wolf,’ as a life coach helping people overcome sex and porn addiction.

Craig Perry, owner of ‘Feed the Right Wolf,’ knew that Baker had a problem with teen porn and described him as a “great man who made a mistake.” [uh, teens are still minors. Again, here’s that “problem” word again.]

…

Perry said that even though he knew Baker had a record of viewing child porn, he hired him anyway.

“I was so impressed by his recovery and his skill set, I let him take my certification course where I train therapists and counselors,” he said. “It didn’t look like this was going to happen again, but when it did, we terminated him immediately.”  [How did Perry KNOW it wouldn’t happen again?]

Baker had also taught at TCU’s at Brite Divinity School in 2011 as  a teaching assistant while pursuing his Ph.D., in philosophy. Baker also claimed that he was the program manager of the Soul Repair Center at Brite from July 2012 to July 2015, though the Star could not confirm that. According to his LinkedIn profile, he was also the pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Stamford, Texas, from 1998-2001, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Seymour, Texas, from 2001-2003 and pastor of First Baptist church in Weinart, Texas, from 2003-2006.

“He was completely normal around me and my kids,” Conroy said.

….

Black Collar Crime: Southern Baptist Leader Paul Pressler Faces Civil Suit Over Sexual Abuse Allegations

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paul pressler

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Southern Baptist luminary Paul Pressler faces a civil suit alleging that he sexually abused a teenager.

The Baptist News reports:

The attorney representing a man suing former Southern Baptist Convention leader Paul Pressler for alleged sexual abuse has filed the first of what he says will be a series of affidavits corroborating his client’s claims.

An attachment to a motion filed April 3 in the United States District Court for the Second District of Texas Houston Division identifies a married man in his 50s living in New York who says he believes Pressler “had designs” on him when he was a teenager.The witness, a member of a youth group that Pressler led at a Presbyterian church in Houston in the 1970s, said during one weekend retreat at the Pressler Ranch, when he was 16 or 17, Pressler told him there was a shortage of beds and asked if he would mind if they shared a bunk.

He said he recalls “feeling a typical teenage aversion to sleeping beside him,” but did not at the time think the request was unreasonable. During the night, he said, Pressler told him he was cold and rubbed his feet against his under the covers without asking.

The affidavit also says Pressler used to take boys from the youth group to saunas and showers at the Houston Oaks Country Club, typically when no other club members were around. They usually would carpool after Bible study in groups of four to 12, but one night he rode with Pressler and noticed he was the only passenger. He asked who else was going, and Pressler said they were the only two.

He suspected nothing, the affidavit says, until Pressler groped him when they were alone in the steam bath.

“I was absolutely not aroused,” the statement says. “I froze. Shocked, stunned and utterly frightened, I had no idea what to expect next. I was naked and trapped — miles from home — and I needed to be beyond Pressler’s reach.”

“My instincts told me to carry on as though nothing had happened — to end the incident with no further incident. With great difficulty, I talked calmly, while staying alert. We returned to the locker room and dressed. Then Pressler drove me to my car without further incident. I went home and from that moment I have stayed away from him.”

Houston attorney Daniel Shea said in the April 3 motion the allegation is just one of “affidavits and material corroborating witnesses” in preparation and partially completed in the case. Shea said they span a period from as early as 1977-78 to as recently as unwanted sexual advances claimed by a man in 2016. Shea said “other affidavits will follow” and “new corroborators continue to come forward.”

Shea’s motion came in response to a motion for summary judgment filed March 30 by the Southern Baptist Convention, one of a number of organizations and individuals accused in the lawsuit of being co-conspirators. While denying any wrongdoing, the SBC argued that the lawsuit is barred by statute of limitations.

Allowing the case to proceed, the motion said, “would involve discovery regarding documents, events and people spanning 40 years.”

“The attendant costs to SBC, taxpayers and judicial resources constitute an abuse of the civil justice system,” the motion said.

Shea opposed the motion, saying he has not yet had a chance to depose Pressler.

According to legal websites, depositions — the taking of an oral statement of a witness before trial, under oath — are part of the right that all parties in a lawsuit have to “discovery,” a formal investigation to find out more about the case before going to trial.

….

Depositions for Pressler and his wife, Nancy, were initially set for Jan. 16 but were “quashed” — declared legally void — by the defendants. March 13 depositions ordered in state court were intercepted when defendant Second Baptist Church in Houston filed a motion March 12 moving the case to the federal bench.

“The depositions sought will be confrontational,” Shea said. “Either Paul Pressler will admit or deny the abuse, admit or deny the corroborators, or provide some unknown response.”

….

Shea’s client, Gareld Duane Rollins Jr., claims that Pressler assaulted him over the course of 35 years, beginning when he was 14.

Pressler, a former justice on the Texas 14th Court of Appeals, has denied all allegations in the lawsuit. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

The Texas Tribune adds:

The lawsuit alleges that Paul Pressler, a former justice on the 14th Court of Appeals who served in the Texas state house from 1957–59, sexually assaulted Duane Rollins, his former bible study student, several times per month over a period of years. According to the filing, the abuse started in the late 1970s and continued less frequently after Rollins left Houston for college in 1983.

In a November court filing, Pressler “generally and categorically [denied] each and every allegation” in Rollins’ petition.

The abuse, which consisted of anal penetration, took place in Pressler’s master bedroom study, the suit alleges. According to the lawsuit, Pressler told Rollins he was “special” and that the sexual contact was their God-sanctioned secret.

….

Pressler is a leading figure on the religious right in Texas and was a key player in the “conservative resurgence” of Southern Baptism, a movement in the 1970s and 1980s that aimed to oust liberals and moderates from the church’s organizational structure. Pressler’s wife Nancy, his former law partner Jared Woodfill, Woodfill Law Firm, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and First Baptist Church of Houston are also named as defendants in the suit.

Rollins seeks damages of over $1 million.

When asked about the suit, Ted Tredennick, Pressler’s attorney, pointed to Rollins’ record, which is peppered with arrests on DUIs and other charges over the last several decades.

“Mr. Rollins is clearly a deeply troubled man, with a track record of multiple felonies and incarceration, and it is the height of irresponsibility that anyone would present such a bizarre and frivolous case — much less report on it,” Tredennick said. He would not give any further comment or respond to specific questions.

Rollins and his lawyer, Daniel Shea, say his past legal troubles stemmed from behavior fueled by alcohol and drug addictions sparked by the childhood sexual abuse. In 1998, Rollins was jailed for 10 years on burglary charges. Pressler advocated for Rollins to receive parole in 2000, when he was first eligible, and then again in 2002. In his 2002 letter to the parole board, Pressler pledged to employ Rollins and be “personally involved in every bit of Duane’s life with supervision and control.”

Woodfill called the accusations against Pressler “absolutely false” and described the lawsuit as “an attempt to extort money.” He also said he plans to file counter charges against Rollins and his lawyer for a “frivolous and harassing lawsuit.”

Shea said Pressler previously settled with Rollins over a 2004 battery charge for an incident in a Dallas hotel room. That settlement is not public, Shea said, but reference is made to such an agreement in recent court filings.

Shea said that though Rollins filed that assault charge more than a decade ago, he had a “suppressed memory” of the sexual abuse until he made an outcry statement to a prison psychologist in November 2015. Harvey Rosenstock, a psychiatrist who has been working with Rollins since August 2016, wrote in a letter included in the suit that Rollins is a “reliable historian for the childhood sexual trauma to which he was repeatedly and chronically subjected.”

….

According to an October 19, 2018 news report, some of the claims against Pressler have been dismissed.

Black Collar Crime: Retired Methodist Pastor David Holmes Accused of Sexual Assault

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pastor david holmes

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

David Holmes, a retired United Methodist pastor, stands accused of sexually assaulting a teenager.  The last church pastored by Holmes was the  Central United Methodist Church in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

KETV-7 reports:

Three men are accused of sexually assaulting the same 14-year-old boy. Bellevue police Detective Roy Howell said they all met the minor on a dating app and left a trail of evidence for investigators.

“These crimes do not just stay in Bellevue, they go outside of our jurisdictions,” Howell said.

One of the male suspects is from Cass County and two are from Iowa.

Bellevue police first arrested Samuel Morris of Logan, Iowa. Howell said the 55-year-old met up with the minor last December in a Bellevue neighborhood and they allegedly had sex. Howell said someone called BPD to report it, which led to Morris’ arrest and prompted Howell to look through the juvenile’s phone.

“Through my investigation, (I) was able to determine the victim has met three other individuals,” Howell said.

Howell said the juvenile met the older men through a social app called “Grindr,” which also led Howell to 45-year-old Devin Watt, who’s still in the Sarpy County Jail.

Watt is accused of having sex with the minor late last year in the same Bellevue neighborhood Morris allegedly did. Watt is also accused of sexually assaulting a different, 13-year-old minor in Douglas County, where he is also facing charges.

Howell’s investigation didn’t stop after Watt.

“In the (Grindr) chat, I found a guy by the name of David,” Howell said.

That David was later identified as 80-year-old David Holmes from Council Bluffs. According to Iowa Methodist Church records, Holmes is a former pastor who retired in 2002. The last church he’s listed under is Oskaloosa Central United Methodist Church.

“Essentially, he confessed that he had met the juvenile boy on that application and that he had met him in Omaha,” Howell said.

According to court documents, Holmes said he met up with the 14-year-old in the Clarkson Hospital parking garage in February 2017 and the two engaged in oral sex.

Holmes told investigators the minor asked him to introduce him to more older men, so Holmes introduced the minor to 64-year-old Robert Recoy. The affidavit says the three met at the Clarkson Hospital parking garage, where they took turns performing oral sex on each other.

According to the court documents, “the 14-year-old male’s mother confirmed they had spent several days at Clarkson Hospital for approximately 3 months during that time frame for her husband. The mother confirmed the 14-year-old male would leave the hospital room for different reasons.

Howell said Recoy was uncooperative during the investigation, and according to reports from the Omaha Police Department, Recoy was found dead in his kitchen with 13 pill bottles and a glass of wine next to him. The affidavit says, “It is believed Recoy took his own life due to this investigation.”

Holmes, Watt and Morris each face at least one count of first degree sexual assault of child.

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Black Collar Crime: Pastor Sean Riley Charged with Money Laundering and Securities Fraud

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sean riley

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Thirteen years ago, Sean Riley, the Evangelical ex-pastor of Secret Place International Church in Humble, Texas, pleaded guilty to operating a pyramid scheme.  The San Antonio Express-News reports Riley “was given two years’ deferred adjudication and was ordered to pay a $500 fine.”  Today, Riley finds himself under indictment for money laundering and securities fraud.

KSLA-12 reports:

A former pastor who in 2015 was cited by a state board has now found himself in hot water following a grand jury indictment.

Sean Patrick Riley, 50, of San Antonio, is charged with money laundering, theft and fraud sell securities. He was arrested on the charge March 22 and is being held on a collective bond of $75,000.

According to the indictment, Riley committed the crimes between Dec. 30, 2014, and Jan. 27, 2015.

The Texas State Securities Board issued a cease and desist order against Riley and his company, Petro-San Resources LLC on June 22, 2015. The order states Riley offered oil and gas investments in Texas at a single well for $7,500 and a $30,000 investment would entitle investors to a four-percent working interest and may lead to a monthly revenue of $2,112.

According to the order, the investment was not registered for sale in Texas and Riley failed to disclose that he had pleaded guilty to promoting a pyramid scheme, charged with DWI and charged with assault. The order also says Riley had been issued cease and desist orders in Pennsylvania and Georgia.

According to an article in the San Antonio Express-News, Riley was the pastor of Secret Place International Church, a Humble “storefront church and TV ministry” in 2005 and was convicted then in the pyramid scheme.

…

Black Collar Crime: Methodist Youth Worker Robbie Shugert Accused of Sex Crimes

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robbie shugert

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Robbie Shugert, a youth worker at Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Portsmouth, Ohio and a public school teacher, stands accused of various sex-related crimes involving teen boys.

WSAZ-3 reports:

Boyd Robert “Robbie” Shugert, 24, was arrested on sex-related charges involving teenage boys.

He has been a teacher in Scioto County, as well as a youth group volunteer and volunteer with an area choir.

According to deputies, Shugert solicited for sex acts and took naked photos of teen boys while they were sleeping and in the restroom stall.

Detective Jodi Conkel said most victims didn’t even know.

“They were shocked. I was the one that had to tell them that that took place.”

Conkel said a concerned parent came forward on Easter Sunday.

Shugert was arrested by deputies in a restaurant parking lot in Rosemount. He believing he was meeting a 15-year-old boy for a sex act and was willing to pay $200. But it reality, Conkel said had been messaging back and forth with her on Snapchat.

Since his arrest became public Monday, “we’ve had multiple victims come forward. They’re multiplying,” Conkel said.

Shugert was hired in the fall as a math teacher at Clay High School.

Superintendent Todd Warnock declined to be interviewed but said Shugert’s on unpaid leave. He has until noon on Wednesday to resign.

Deputies believe, at this time, no criminal acts took place on school grounds or because he was a teacher. One parent said he was well liked.

Shugert allegedly met his victims through volunteer positions, one with a local choir and as a youth group volunteer with Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Portsmouth.

“When you have an adult, a person like that, that person preys on children. They’re good at that,” Conkel said. “That’s what they do. These kids, they’re victims. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Cornerstone Pastor Tim Roth said Shugert has been a longtime attender there, on the church’s praise team and youth group volunteer for the last three to four years.

“We were shocked and saddened and stunned to hear of Robbie’s arrest,” Roth said.

Roth said church policy requires two adults at all times at youth group functions.

….

Shugert later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seventeen years in prison.

Black Collar Crime: Baptist Pastor Henry Lyons Accused of Criminal Financial Behavior — Again

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The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Henry Lyons, pastor of New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Temple Terrace, Florida, spent five years in prison for extortion and money laundering. Lyons used the proceeds of his crimes to feed the hungry and minister to the poor. Just kidding. Lyons used the money to fund his opulent lifestyle. After his release from prison in 2004, Lyons became the pastor of Salem Missionary Baptist. He was fired from his job last year. Now, it seems, Lyons has returned to his old thieving ways, proving yet again that a leopard can’t change its spots.

Corey Johnson, a reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, writes:

Before he was sent to prison nearly 20 years ago, the Rev. Henry Lyons apologized for a litany of sins. Extortion and laundering of church funds. Hidden properties, secret mistresses and an opulent lifestyle that included luxury cars and a personal chef.

But the former St. Petersburg pastor who once presided over the nation’s largest black religious organization never said a word about Rochelle McCanns.

McCanns is a convicted prostitute who rose to an administrative position at Lilly Endowment Inc., an Indianapolis-based philanthropy that is one of the world’s wealthiest charitable foundations.

In the 1990s, records show, Lyons secretly funneled thousands in National Baptist Convention U.S.A. money to McCanns, including $10,000 donated by the Anti-Defamation League for the rebuilding of black churches damaged by arson.

Authorities knew McCanns received the diverted money but she was never charged with a crime. Prosecutors and investigators say they were focused on bigger targets.

Now a Tampa Bay Times investigation finds the relationship between the two continued decades later in a new Lyons’ scheme, this one targeting Lilly’s generosity.

Interviews and records show McCanns and Lyons arranged to have more than $130,000 in Lilly money sent to New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Temple Terrace, which made Lyons pastor in 2004 after his release from prison. The stated purpose was to help finance youth programs and community service work. Records show most of the funds ended up in accounts controlled by Lyons.

McCanns, 70 and now retired, denies doing anything wrong. She says she never received a dime from Lyons, past or present.

“I don’t have anything to do with Henry Lyons or his money,’’ she told a reporter before abruptly ending a recent interview.

Lyons, 76, who was fired from New Salem last year, did not answer questions about his relationship with McCanns or about bank records that show Lilly money moving in and out of his accounts.

Warren Hope Dawson, his attorney, declined to discuss specifics. He said, however, that there was no contract or church bylaw that prohibited Lyons from opening personal accounts and depositing New Salem money in them.

“Rev. Lyons denies any wrongdoing in connection to the New Salem church,” Dawson said. “Any wrongdoing that was done in the past, he was punished for it, and he accepted his punishment like a man.”

Last summer, the FBI seized a computer and multiple boxes of financial records used by Lyons and his wife from New Salem offices. As is its practice, the FBI will not comment on investigations.

But McCanns acknowledged agents have contacted her. And more recently, church officials say agents have been questioning them. Several said they were asked if they would be willing to testify against Lyons.

Wynie Anderson was the secretary at New Salem for 19 years. When an invoice or donation arrived, Anderson was usually the first to know.

She made bank deposits and notarized property transactions. She scoured the Internet looking for ways to raise money for the church. One day in late 2009, she told the Times, Lyons called her into his office. He told her he had stumbled onto a new grant prospect and needed her help.

The Lilly Endowment of Indianapolis — created by members of the family that built Eli Lilly and Co., the giant pharmaceutical firm — had money the church could get, Anderson said Lyons told her. But there was a twist. Lyons would have to send money to get money.

“He says to me, ‘This funding comes from this endowment where they pay pastors if the pastors give X amount of dollars,’?’’ Anderson said. “I say ‘really?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’?’’

Lilly says nothing like that has ever existed. But the organization does have an “incentive for personal giving” program open only to Lilly employees, who can apply for a 2-to-1 match of every dollar they donate to an outside charity. Employees must certify the donation is coming from them and not from outside individuals or organizations.

For months, Lyons mailed at least $1,500 to a contact at Lilly, Anderson told the Times. When a Lilly check arrived at the church, he told her where to deposit it. For her help with each transaction, she was typically given $300.

Occasionally, Anderson would talk by phone to a woman at Lilly who wanted to make sure the church had the forms it needed.

Her name, Anderson said, was Rochelle McCanns.

From 1975 until her retirement in 2015, McCanns held a number of administrative positions at the Lilly Endowment. The last was overseeing its matching gift program for employees.

The Lilly Endowment is one of the largest private foundations in the world, with more than $10 billion in assets. In a typical year, it awards hundreds of millions in grants, much of it to education and religion programs.

The matching gift program is designed to encourage employee giving.

Between 2009 and 2014, Lilly paid New Salem’s nonprofit arm — New Salem Ministries — $132,200 in matching grants. In each instance, McCanns signed a form certifying she had made the initial contribution personally, according to a statement by Clay Robbins, the Lilly Endowment chief executive.

At the time, the church charity provided food for the poor, child day care, an after-school program and other social services. It was supposed to receive $20,000 in 2009; $23,400 in 2010; $18,800 in 2011; $21,000 in 2012; $26,000 in 2013 and $24,000 in 2014.

Bank statements and church records show at least $94,000 was diverted into other accounts controlled by Lyons.

Most of it went to Regions Bank in Tampa. Lyons directed an 82-year-old deacon to start the new account, called the New Salem Missionary Baptist Church Benevolence Fund, on Feb. 11, 2013. Bank statements show the deacon opened it with $3,000 from church members’ tithes and donations.

That was the same day the U.S. Attorney’s Office informed Lyons of its plans to audit his finances to ensure he was paying his legally required restitution for crimes committed while president of the National Baptist Convention. It was also the same day prosecutors filed a subpoena on BB&T bank, demanding records about Lyons’ checking and savings accounts there.

Until that time, New Salem kept its benevolence funds at SunTrust and PNC banks. They were small pots of money set aside to provide loans to church members in crisis.

The fund would range from as little as $100 to as much as a few thousand. Dispersals were capped at $300, with each case required to be approved by Lyons and one other church leader.

Between February 2013 and December 2014, $69,800 in Lilly matching money moved in and out of the account at Regions. The cycle of deposits and withdrawals was repeated 15 times, with checks from Lilly or McCanns coming in and money going out to Lyons or accounts he controlled.

Breach Ministries, a charity created by Lyons, received $42,100. Almost $15,000 went to Lyons directly while $10,700 was paid to National Trusted Partners, an organization founded by Lyons.

Church officials say the benevolence fund at Regions was created without their knowledge. They say they didn’t learn of the Lilly checks until told by the Times.

The deacon has since left the church.

G.W. Stewart, treasurer for National Trusted Partners at the time of the transactions, told the Times he was unaware the organization had received thousands intended for New Salem Ministries. Lyons alone controlled the checkbook, he said, as well as related financial transactions. He insisted he was a treasurer in name only and never saw financial statements or held any real oversight power.

“One time Lyons brought the checkbook with him and I saw something that I couldn’t understand,’’ he told the Times. He said he asked Lyons to identify the recipient of a particular check.

“And he said, ‘Well, I have some personal business mixed up with that. So don’t worry about that,’?’’ Stewart said. “I left it alone. After that I didn’t ask any more questions. I figured if I don’t know nothing about it then I’m not involved.”

Most of the Lilly donations do not appear to have been disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service by New Salem Ministries, as required by law.

….

You can read the entire story here.

Black Collar Crime: IFB Preacher Robert Ross Accused of Covering Up Child Abuse

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robert ross steven winn larry winn
Pastor Robert Ross, Steven Winn, and Larry Winn. The church that preys together stays together.

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

In February, I posted a story about Steven Winn’s arrest on sex crime charges. In March, I posted a story about Steve Winn’s father, Larry, being arrested on similar charges. Today, their pastor, Robert Ross, has been arrested on charges that he failed to make a child abuse report. Ross is mandatory reporter, yet he did nothing. I have long argued that pastors — if they know about child abuse or a sex crime and don’t report it — should be arrested and prosecuted for failing to report. As long as there is nu punishment for their crimes, pastors will continue to sweep child abuse and sexual assault allegations under the proverbial rug.

According to the report that follows, Open Door Baptist Church in Mesquite, Texas — an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist institution — has had at least four members accused of sexual abuse in its fifty-year history.

Sarah Smith, a reporter for The Star Telegram, writes:

The pastor of a fundamentalist Baptist church with two members already facing sex abuse charges was arrested Tuesday on charges that he failed to make a required child abuse report.

Robert A. Ross, the pastor of Open Door Baptist Church in Mesquite, is in the Mesquite jail. Bond has been set at $2,500. The police have not yet responded to a request for comment.

Open Door Baptist Church in Mesquite has had four members accused of sexual abuse in its 50-year history. Members and ex-members say a strict culture that reveres church authorities as nearly unquestionable has led to an environment conducive to ongoing abuse.

A tipster reported the most recent allegations to Mesquite police in late February. They involved a father-son pair described as belonging to a family deeply involved in the church.

Police arrested Steven Winn, 33, who volunteered with Open Door’s youth ministry, and charged him with three counts of sexual assault of a child on Feb. 22. Larry Winn, his father and the church’s 65-year-old bus minister, was arrested a few days later and charged with sexual assault of a child. The cases involve different victims.

In 2011, the church’s then-pastor, Matt Jarrell, committed suicide in a West Virginia jail cell, where he was being held on rape charges. He had a history of sexual assault arrests, at least one of which was known to the church’s assistant pastor, per news reports at the time.

Back in 1988, Donald Lewis — another bus minister — pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child. He died while on probation. One of Lewis’ victims claims that the church’s pastor, Sylvester Matthews, knew of the abuse before his arrest.

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Steven Winn is accused of having a 14-month sexual relationship with a minor that began when the girl was 15 and a student at the church’s school, Mesquite Bible Academy. Winn volunteered with the church’s youth ministry.

Several congregants said they were long concerned about what they say looked like an obviously inappropriate relationship between a 33-year-old man in power and a teenager.

One former member put it like this: “Anyone with two eyes and an Instagram account could have seen that things didn’t look right.”

The girl, who is still a minor and isn’t being identified by the Star-Telegram, posted pictures of herself and Winn on her page, which the Star-Telegram reviewed. The two sat close — much closer than Open Door usually allows even dating couples —and were spending an excessive amount of time together, said the former member.

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“I talked to her a couple times on my phone,” another member said. “I was like ‘Hey, you shouldn’t be calling this guy your daddy, he’s just some guy at church.’ And she’s like, ‘You know, it’s none of your business.’ ”

He said he discussed it with friends but ultimately chose not to bring it up to anyone else.

“When you’re in the church, you believe that the pastors are the authorities,” he said. “They know what’s going on. So you would just automatically figure, it’s probably not right that they’re doing that, but I don’t think there’s anything super wrong going on, you know?”

The girl did not respond to a request for comment. The girl’s mother, reached by phone, declined to comment.

After Steven Winn’s arrest, Ross, the pastor, called a members’ meeting, longtime member Austin Guthrie said. Ross gave no details beyond the charges and said that Steven Winn had turned himself into police.

Lt. Brian Parrish, the Mesquite Police Department’s public relations officer, said Steven Winn and his father voluntarily surrendered to police. However, he said, Steven Winn did not come forward and confess of his own accord. Police received a tip on Feb. 18 — four days before Winn’s arrest. The tipster did not know the extent of the assaults, but was concerned about the relationship.

The same tipster who contacted police about Steven Winn spoke to police about Larry Winn, the bus minister for Open Door, in charge of the fleet of school buses painted with the church logo that shepherds children to and from services. When police contacted the alleged victim, she told them that Larry Winn had assaulted her three years ago, when she was 16.

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The accusations against Larry Winn are similar to those in a case involving Sherry May Sims in the 1980s.

Sims is 46 now, but when she was 12, an Open Door bus minister raped her. The assaults went on for four years, from 1984 to 1988, she said.

Donald Lewis was the bus driver. Lori Clark, who attended Open Door at the time, remembered Lewis as heavyset and graying, always in a suit. Kids nicknamed him the “Candy Man” for the brown paper bag of hard candy he carried.

A different victim, also a minor female, reported Lewis to the Mesquite police in 1988. When the news about Lewis broke, Sims’ parents asked her if anything happened. She said she told them the truth. On May 18, 1988, Sims told her story to the Mesquite police. Later, she told it to a grand jury.

She said she never thought to report it herself.

“He was an authority figure and you didn’t say anything bad about authority figures,” Sims said.

Donald Lewis pleaded guilty. He died while on probation in 1994.

When Sims told her parents what happened, her father met with the pastor, Matthews. Her father, who died last year, told Sims that Matthews said there had been other allegations made to him prior to Lewis’ arrest. Nothing was done.

Matthews is still employed at Open Door. He serves as a senior pastor and a math teacher at Open Door’s school.

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You can read the entire sordid story here.

Black Collar Crime: IFB Preacher Ronald Burning Granted Parole After Only Serving Six Years for Sexual Assault

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The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Ronald Burning, former pastor of Johnsfield Baptist Church in Ohsweken, Ontario — located on the Six Nations Indian Reservation — was granted parole after only serving a six year prison sentence for sexually assaulting children, women, and men over a thirty year period. Burning was affiliated with Old Time Baptist Church in Buffalo, New York — a staunch King James Only Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Church.

The Brantford Expositor reports:

Six Nations pastor Ronald Burning, convicted in 2012 of a series of sexual assaults on children, women and men over 30 years, has been granted full parole from prison.

Now 65, Burning was sentenced in 2013 to 10 years for four counts of indecent assault of a female. two counts of sexual assault, indecent assault of a male, forcible confinement and criminal harassment, He received credit for his pre-trial custody on a 1 1/2 days for every one day served, giving him a total of 612 days of credit.

At his trial, the minister pleaded not guilty. He launched an appeal of the verdict by Justice Kim Carpenter-Gunn but abandoned his fight in May 2014.

It wasn’t until last June, when Burning was before the parole board, that he confessed his full guilt.

He later admitted he had been trying to protect himself and his family by denying his offences.

Before his arrest, the preacher also was principal of an independent school associated with his congregation, Johnsfield Baptist Church on Fifth Line. Throughout his trial, he received strong support from members of the church and American members of the church’s umbrella organization, Old Time Baptist Church in Buffalo, N.Y.

Victims who testified during Burning’s trial included: a woman who was sexually groomed and assaulted as a teen; a second woman who Burning assaulted for 11 years, beginning when she was a pre-schooler; a female church employee who was blackmailed into performing sexual acts; a woman who caught Burning peeping at her through a vent in the women’s washroom in the church; and two men who said the pastor molested them when they were young.

Last December, Burning was granted day parole and has been living in a federal halfway house at an undisclosed location.

According to the Parole Board of Canada’s decision to grant him full release, Burning has been spending weekends at his wife’s home, where he now will take up residence.

The report said Burning has made significant progress since being on day parole.

He has enrolled in a college program where he’s been attending daily classes. And he took a computer course through a native employment centre.

He also has been working on a self-management plan to identify triggers to the “distorted thinking patterns” he had in the past, said the parole board report, adding that Burning had a healing plan that he’s worked on with a church and his wife and daughter, who remain supportive.

The parole board said that Burning is considered a low risk to re-offend because of his “high levels of accountability, motivation and reintegration potential.”

He also is in poor health, the board notes.

“It is the board’s opinion that you will not present an undue risk to society if released and your release will contribute to the protection of society by facilitating your reintegration into society as a law-abiding citizen.”

The board noted that Burning caused long-lasting psychological harm to his victims.

He faces strict conditions, including avoiding contact with his victims and all children under 18 years old. He also must report his relationships to his parole officer and not be in any supervisory role or position of authority over children.

He remains on the national sexual offenders database for the rest of his life.

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In July 2017, the Brantford Expositor reported:

According to the parole board report, Burning told them he denied his guilt in order to protect himself and his family. He said he decided to accept responsibility after incarceration gave him time to reflect on his life.

“You were selfish and non-accountable,” says the report.“You admitted that you knew what you did was wrong but your desire for sexual gratification was stronger than any misgivings you might have had.”

Burning used his position as a musician, pastor and principal at Johnsfield Baptist Church on Six Nations to target victims, often on Sundays.
During his trial, supporters from both his family and the Six Nations church’s sponsoring congregation from the U.S. were in the courtroom to support the minister.

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One former member of the church, whose daughters attended the church school, said she was angry that Burning was being released. The woman left the church, horrified the group continued to support Burning, to the point of raising funds for his defence, without addressing the allegation he was facing. “I’ve spoken out against my ex-church in the last four-and-a-half years since we left,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be used. “I’m an administrator of an Independent Fundamental Baptist survivor group on Facebook and involved in several other IFB survivor groups.”

Through testimony during Burning’s trial, it was learned that although complaints about Burning were received by police as early as 2007, it was the end of 2009 when a victim reported she had been sexually assaulted, beginning when she was 17. The woman said Burning began by kissing and fondling her but his actions progressed to fellatio and intercourse.

A second woman testified she had been assaulted for 11 years, starting when she was three or four years old. Burning began having intercourse with her when she was about seven and continued to have sex with her until she was about 15.

Another woman said she rented a house from Burning’s church and worked at both the church and the school. Burning blackmailed her into performing sexual acts, threatening that she would lose her house and job if she didn’t comply.

Another woman reported she saw Burning watching her through a vent in the women’s washroom at the church. Her husband found a chair and mirror at the vent that allowed for a view of the genitals of anyone using the washroom. Another peephole was located in another bathroom.

Two men reported assaults. One said Burning fondled him while he slept and another said when he was seven to nine years old, Burning fellated him on at least 160 occasions.

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The parole board questioned Burning about the fact that his “pool of victims” included four children under the age of 14.“You were asked why you offended against children. You said they were crimes of opportunity, the children were dependent on you and you felt they would not denunciate you. “You felt entitled and used the power that your position gave you to groom some of your victims and manipulate them.

”Burning confessed to the board that he still thinks of children in a sexual way but he has no inclination now to act upon his feelings. He outlined examples of how he plans to cope with such desires.

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I find it appalling that Burning only served six years for his crimes; that the parole board determined he was no longer a risk to society. What is the h-e-l-l were they thinking?

In 2012, the Brantford Expositor reported:

A 59-year-old Six Nations pastor sat with his head in his hands after guilty verdicts were read out on 13 of 14 charges Friday afternoon in Brantford Superior Court.

Ronald D. Burning was taken into custody after the verdicts were read, bringing to a conclusion a two-week trial where the six-man, six-woman jury heard from two men and five women in relation to an original 19 charges. The witnesses cannot be identified due to a court-ordered publication ban.

Jurors had deliberated over 14 of the original 19 charges starting Thursday at 10 a.m. At 8 p.m. Thursday they were sequestered for the night and resumed deliberations at 10 a.m. Friday. They rendered their verdicts shortly before 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Burning, pastor of Johnsfield Baptist Church, was found guilty on three counts of sexual assault, four charges of indecent assault, sexual intercourse with someone under the age of 14, forcible confinement, indecent assault, voyeurism, criminal harassment, indecent assault and gross indecency. These charges, some committed on men and some on women, related to incidents that took place between 1971 and 2009.

He was found not guilty on a single charge – sexual assault on a male.

Three of the original charges were stayed by Justice Kim Carpenter-Gunn, who directed acquittal on two other charges because no evidence was presented.

During their deliberations, jurors returned to the court mid-morning Friday to ask a question of clarification. Jurors wanted to know if they could find guilt on a charge where there was only the testimony of one witness and no other corroborating evidence from exhibits presented during the trial or other witness testimony.

The judge said that jurors could use any evidence or testimony to help them assess the context of the witness testimony in question and use that to determine how much weight to give to what that person told the court.

The judge revoked Burning’s bail following his conviction, requiring that he stay in custody until his sentencing hearing.

Defence lawyer Howard Staats had asked his client remain on bail, given he has lived under those conditions for almost two years and had caused no problems.

Assistant Crown attorney Patricia Vadacchino argued for custody.

She also reviewed for the judge how two of the guilty verdicts carry minimum life sentences, three carry minimum five-year sentences and one carries a minimum 10-year sentence.

“Now that we’ve had the jury come back … finding the accused guilty on 13 of 14 charges and the defendant is looking at significant jail time, I don’t see the wisdom of releasing the accused,” Carpenter-Gunn said.

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Black Collar Crime: Youth Minister Chad Coe Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing Teen Girl

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chad coe

The Black Collar Crime Series relies on public news stories and publicly available information for its content. If any incorrect information is found, please contact Bruce Gerencser. Nothing in this post should be construed as an accusation of guilt. Those accused of crimes are innocent until proven guilty.

Chad Coe, a youth minister with First Congregational Church in West Dundee, Illinois, pleaded guilty today and was sentenced to seven years in prison for sexually abusing a teen girl.

The Daily Herald reports:

A former West Dundee church youth group director was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday after admitting to sexually abusing a teen girl in spring and summer 2013.

Chad A. Coe, 36, of the 7100 block of Bannockburn Circle, faced up to 15 years if convicted of the most severe charge of criminal sexual assault and his jury trial was scheduled for this week.

Kane County Judge James Hallock accepted Coe’s plea, in which prosecutors dismissed the most serious charges, such as criminal sexual assault.

Coe received the maximum sentence of seven years for aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

His plea was unexpected; prosecutors were prepared for a weeklong trial and jury selection was to begin Monday morning.

“I hope this finally gets the family some closure after five years,” said Deb Bree, executive director of the Kane County Child Advocacy Center, which investigates crimes against children on behalf of the state’s attorney’s office. “I’m pleased the victim will not have to take the (witness) stand and recount the horror she faced by someone she trusted so much.”

Coe, a former youth group leader at First Congregational Church of Dundee, was fired shortly after his arrest in July 2013.

He also was charged with possession of child pornography in late 2013, but prosecutors later dropped those charges.

He had been free on bond since his arrest; deputies took him away in handcuffs after his guilty plea.

Coe was accused of grooming the victim, a Sleepy Hollow girl, when she was 14 and then sexually assaulting her at 15 in the church basement.

Defense attorney Brittany Pedersen declined to comment.

Under state law, Coe can have his sentence cut in half for good behavior.

He also must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life after his prison release and is to have no contact with the victim.

The victim and her family sued Coe, the church, the United Church of Christ, and the General Synod and Illinois Conference of the UCC for damages.

The victim argued the church was negligent in hiring, supervising and retaining Coe.

All the defendants except Coe were removed by a trial court ruling, but an appellate court last October reversed that decision and sent the lawsuit back to Kane County.

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