How Sabrina Carpenter’s song led to the demotion of a priest for misusing church funds

A New York priest who was disciplined last year for allowing pop star Sabrina Carpenter to film a racy music video in his church is now accused of misusing nearly $2 million in parish funds.

Church officials announced this week that Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello has been relieved of his other duties after an investigation revealed “a pattern of serious violations of diocesan policy and protocol” — including making unauthorized financial transfers to a former mayoral aide. Eric Adams Administrationwho is currently under federal corruption investigation.

Gigantiello has been relieved of “any pastoral oversight or management role” at Annunciation Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Williamsburg, Bishop Robert Brennan said in a statement released by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and provided to NPR.

Brennan said Gigantiello “misappropriated significant church funds and interfered in the administration of the parish after he was ordered not to do so.” NPR has reached out to Gigantiello’s attorney for comment.

Brennan said he also fired Deacon Dean Dobbins — who served as interim parish administrator during the investigation — citing that he used “racist and other offensive language” during private conversations in the church office. He added that these conversations were “apparently recorded at the behest of Monsignor Gigantiello” without the deacon’s consent.

“It was wrong to covertly record Deacon Dobbins, but the use of such language by any church official is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” he added.

Brennan said he appointed a new administrator “to protect the public trust and protect church funds.”

Here’s a look at the allegations against Gigantiello — and how it relates to one of the the greatest artists of pop music.

What prompted the investigation?

As in other legends, it all began on Halloween. On October 31, 2023, Carpenter released music video for her song “Feather,” which is partially set in a Brooklyn church.

To the tune of a cheerful song, she reveals a series of incidents in which she either kills or witnesses the death of several men who mistreated her. Carpenter drives a pink hearse into the church and, once inside, dances—clad in a short black tutu and veil—around the altar in front of several pastel-colored coffins.

The video definitely has its fans; It has been viewed over 100 million times on YouTube. But it also ruffled a lot of feathers (no pun intended).

Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, said Catholic news agency at a time when he was “shocked” by what was filmed in the church.

“The parish did not follow the diocesan policy for filming on Church grounds, which includes scene and script verification,” the diocese said in a statement.

A few days later, Gigantiello, who had served as the church’s pastor for nearly a decade, posted letter to the parishioners apologizing for his part in “this disgraceful representation, which I emphatically renounce.”

In it, he said that the parish had been approached by a local film crew looking for locations for “what was billed as a ‘Sabrina Carpenter production'” and that he had agreed to film “after a general search for the artists involved failed to produce able”. to discover something dubious.” He said he was not present during the filming.

“The parish staff and I did not know that anything provocative was going on in the church, and we did not know that artificial coffins and other funereal items would be placed in the sanctuary,” Gigantiello wrote. “Most of the video was supposed to be shot outside, near the church, which it was.”

Carpenter, for his part, said at the time that her team was pre-approved and joked, “Jesus was a carpenter.” She wore a shirt with this phrase during her performance at Coachella earlier this year.

As a result of the incident, Brennan removed Gigantiello as diocesan vicar for development — a fundraising position he had held for years — and relieved him of “all administrative and financial oversight.”

Brennan also initiated what he called “a broader administrative review of compliance with diocesan policies and procedures.”

What did the investigators find?

The review was conducted by the consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal and the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. Church officials say it exposed a pattern of wrongdoing, including financial abuse by Gigantiello.

Officials were most concerned that between 2019 and 2021, Gigantiello transferred a total of $1.9 million in parish funds to bank accounts and two companies associated with the law firm of Frank Carone, a close adviser to Mayor Eric Adams, who was his first chief of staff. in 2022 (and now works a lobbying firm and said before that it would happen chair the Adams campaign).

“These transfers took the form of three apparent loans made by the Parish to entities affiliated with Carone,” Brennan said.

He said Gigantiello did not inform diocesan officials or seek the necessary authorization for the transfers, nor did he properly document the transfers or “obtain the necessary information from Mr. Carone about the use of these funds.”

NPR reached out to a representative for Carone.

Brennan said Gigantiello first transferred $1 million to Carone’s law firm in 2019, and that the firm returned that amount, along with about 9% interest, between June 2020 and June 2021. Gigantiello made two more transfers totaling $900,000 in August and November 2021 to companies affiliated with Carone, apparently “pursuant to promissory notes providing for one-year repayment terms at agreed interest rates.”

But he asked for an early repayment of the principal amount in February 2022 “without requiring the parish to pay the substantial interest on the promissory notes.”

Gigantiello said City that he approached Carone to see “if I could make any investment” for the parish, adding that “the investment was made legally and the investment returned.”

Brennan said unauthorized loans were not the only problem uncovered.

“In addition, the diocesan audit revealed other instances in which Monsignor Gigantiello used and transferred parish funds in violation of diocesan policies and protocols,” he said. “He also used a church credit card for significant personal expenses. These transactions are being investigated.”

In addition, he said, the diocese obtained evidence from Gigantiello’s attorneys earlier this month of “racist and other offensive comments” made by Dobbins, a deacon who served as interim administrator after Gigantiello’s demotion.

The evidence included recordings of conversations in the parish office at Gigantiello’s direction without “the knowledge or consent of the deacon, and in some cases, without the knowledge or consent of the other party to the conversation.”

What does this have to do with the charge in the Adams case?

In late September, Adams was indicted on federal charges of bribery, fraud and solicitation of political contributions from a foreign national, becoming the first sitting mayor of New York to charged with a federal crime.

Despite the resignations of many top administration officials — and calls for Adams to do the same — the mayor, who pleaded not guilty, said he does not plan to leave the position.

Several mass media — including NBC 4 New York,City, New York Daily News and National Catholic Reporter — reported that earlier this year Gigantiello’s church received a subpoena from federal investigators asking for information about business dealings between Gigantiello and Carone, describing them as longtime friends.

They accompanied Adams to his a visit to Rome earlier this year, where he met with the Pope, according to those sources.

The diocese says it is “fully committed to cooperating with law enforcement in all investigations.” He did not respond to NPR’s questions about the subpoena.

It’s unclear to what extent the “Feather” music video fiasco may have put Gigantiello’s church on the radar of investigators.

But Carpenter joked about her alleged role in Adams’ indictment days after it happened while she Short and sweet performed in New York’s Madison Square Garden on the tour.

– Damn, what now? – said the singer on stage. “Should I talk about how I managed to impeach the mayor or…?

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