International
Reverend father squandered $650K donations on lavish lifestyle – Report
Reverend father squandered $650K donations on lavish lifestyle – Report
A Catholic Reverend father has been ousted by Police authorities for lying to donors after he raised at least $650,000 for overseas medical clinics he claimed to operate, but in reality used the donations to fuel an extravagant lifestyle that included ‘heavenly’ meals, trips to the Hamptons and plastic surgery.
Pawel Bielecki, known as “Father Paul,” claimed he ran medical clinics in war-torn Lebanon, meanwhile he was 5,600 miles away in Manhattan, New York..
“Bielecki exploited his position as a friar to gain the trust of victims across the country and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from them,” said Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which collared the clergyman on Aug. 17 on charges of wire and mail fraud.
For eight years, the priest allegedly preyed on the compassionate members of his flock, soliciting donations on local radio shows and crowdfunding websites for non-existent Lebanese hospitals and ambulances, authorities said.
The cleric allegedly exploited the horrific August 4, 2020 chemical explosion in Beirut, which killed 218 people to fill his wallet, claiming he was hurt in the attack.
But prosecutors said he wasn’t even there and “made several purchases at coffee shops, restaurants and other businesses” in Manhattan on the day of the disaster.
Investigators say he did not leave the US between December 2019 and April 2022.
Friar Buck would direct his marks in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia and Florida to send checks to his friary with “Fr. Paul Bielecki’s Mission” in the memo line, the feds said.
“Bielecki (above) exploited his position as a friar to gain the trust of victims
across the country and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from them,” said a US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
He would also sweet-talk victims into sending donations by mail to “St. Francis in Beirut Inc.”— a non-profit Bielecki established at the Manhattan friary where he resided.
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Between December 2017 and February 2024, the friar withdrew almost $50,000 in cash from his bank accounts; transferred more than $600,000 to two credit card companies to pay for personal expenses, including $334 per month for a luxe gym membership; forays to the Hamptons and “numerous meals at high-end restaurants,” the complaint says.
He allegedly also used at least $15,000 on liposuction surgery, authorities said.
At different times he claimed to be a surgeon or a United Nations researcher, and the 48-year-old cleric used multiple aliases, including “Dr. Phaakon Sonderburg-Glucksburg.”
In September he legally changed his name to “Paul HRH Saxe-Coburg-Gotha” — with “HRH” standing for “His Royal Highness,” authorities said.
In 2018, he told the Salaam Club of New York and the Rotary Club of Verrazano: “Doctors are being taken along the Syrian border. I was supposed to have had four physicians with me but they are in jail now,” according to a story in the Brooklyn Reporter.
A Pennsylvania woman and her husband transferred $84,000 to Bielecki’s bank account between June 2020 and October 2023, the feds said.
The woman emailed Bielecki on Christmas Eve 2021, wishing him and “the people of Lebanon . . . many blessings of consolation and peace during this Holy Season.”
Two weeks later, Bielecki replied that he was “buying a new ambulance” that would “allow [him] to visit villages far north and provide medical help.”
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The woman emailed back expressing her happiness that “the many prayers for an ambulance were answered” — and wired Bielecki another $10,000.
The cleric followed up with her the day after Valentine’s Day, writing, “God is great. The ambulance is OK to go . . . I already did a few villages with medical help. People were crying . . . God bless you both every day . . . every minute — Love Fr. Paul.”
In reality, Bielecki had just visited an NYC liposuction clinic, where he scheduled his $15,000 plastic surgery on March 8, police say.
John Abi-Habib, a member of the Salaam Club of New York and an honorary consul of Lebanon, also got scammed. “No way, oh wow!” he said, shocked after hearing of the arrest of the cleric.
That’s scary man, that’s not right. Anyone that tries to use good people and hardworking people. . . and then not use [the donations properly]? It hurts. It hurts a lot.”
The Polish-born Bielecki entered the order of Capuchin Franciscans in Krakow in 1994 — ironically taking a vow of poverty, which required him to renounce material things and to not hold any property or bank accounts.
He was ordained a priest in 2001, church officials said.
Reverend father squandered $650K donations on lavish lifestyle – Report
International
Nurse escapes gang-rape attempt in Indian hospital, cuts doctor’s private parts with blade
Nurse escapes gang-rape attempt in Indian hospital, cuts doctor’s private parts with blade
A month after a trainee doctor was raped and m8rdered in Kolkata, India, sparking anger and protests nationwide, a gang-rape attempt was made on a nurse at a private hospital in Bihar.
Police said one of the assaulters is a doctor who is also the administrator of the institution. However, the nurse managed to escape after inflicting a cut on his private parts with a blade.
The nurse was wrapping up work at the RBS Health Care Centre in Gangapur under the Musrighararari police station limits in Samastipur district on Wednesday night when hospital administrator Dr Sanjay Kumar (pictured) and two of his associates – all of whom were drunk – tried to r@pr her.
Trying to free herself from the clutches of Dr Kumar and the others, the nurse used a blade to slash at the doctor’s genitals.
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She managed to escape and dial the police after hiding in a field outside the hospital
Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar Pandey said a team was rushed to the hospital and, after making sure that the nurse was safe, three people were arrested, including the doctor. The other two accused have been identified as Sunil Kumar Gupta and Awadhesh Kumar.
Mr Pandey said the men had locked the hospital from the inside and turned off the CCTV cameras before trying to s3xually ass@ult the nurse.
“The presence of mind and courage shown by the survivor is praiseworthy,” he said.
The police have recovered half a bottle of liquor, the blade used by the nurse, blood-stained clothes and three cellphones.
Officials said the three men had been drinking before trying to assault the nurse and they will also be charged under prohibition laws because Bihar is a dry state.
Doctor Sanjay is also the organization minister of Hindu Samaj Party.
Nurse escapes gang-rape attempt in Indian hospital, cuts doctor’s private parts with blade
International
Israeli leaflets tell south Lebanon residents to evacuate
Israeli leaflets tell south Lebanon residents to evacuate
BEIRUT: Israel dropped leaflets over a Lebanon border village Sunday urging residents to leave, state-run media said, but Israel’s military told AFP a brigade had taken the initiative without approval.
It was the first time Israelis had told residents of south Lebanon to evacuate in 11 months of cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel over the Gaza war, triggered by Hezbollah ally Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
“The Israeli enemy dropped leaflets over Wazzani calling on those in the area and its surroundings to evacuate,” the official National News Agency said, referring to a southern border village.
Wazzani mayor Ahmed Al-Mohammed shared with AFP a picture of the leaflets that showed a map of the region with the areas marked for evacuation marked in red.
The leaflet read in Arabic: “To all residents and refugees living in the area of the camps, Hezbollah is firing from your region. You must immediately leave your homes and head north of the Khiam region before 04:00 p.m. (1300 GMT). Do not return to this area until the end of the war.”
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It added: “Anyone present in this area after this time will be considered a terrorist.”
Wazzani is an agricultural region where Syrians are often hired to work the land.
Asked about the incident, an Israeli military spokeswoman said the leaflets had been dropped by drone in an area from which rockets had been fired into northern Israel.
“This was an initiative of the 769 Brigade, it was not approved by the Northern Command. An investigation has been opened,” she added.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli aircraft regularly drop leaflets urging residents to evacuate before an attack.
On Saturday, Hezbollah’s second-in-command Naim Qassem warned that an all-out war by Israel aimed at returning 100,000 displaced people to their homes in areas near the Lebanon border would displace “hundreds of thousands” more Israelis.
The cross-border violence since early October has killed 623 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but also including at least 141 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, authorities have announced the deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians.
Israeli leaflets tell south Lebanon residents to evacuate
ARAB NEWS
International
Deadly floods hit Central, Eastern Europe
Deadly floods hit Central, Eastern Europe
A firefighter died during a flood rescue in Austria and one person drowned in Poland, as torrential rain caused by Storm Boris continued to wreak havoc across Central and Eastern Europe.
In Romania, five people have died, while several remain unaccounted for in the Czech Republic.
The Austrian province surrounding Vienna has been declared a disaster area, with its leaders speaking of “an unprecedented extreme situation”.
Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk declared a state of natural disaster.
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