A former pastor of the St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church in Hastings and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ardsley has been accused of stealing $270,155 from that parish in 2022.
On Dec. 28, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office arrested the Rev. Robert Henry, charging him with grand larceny in the second degree, a felony. The 74-year-old was arraigned in Hastings Village Court on Jan. 25, and his case was transferred to the Westchester County Supreme Court, where he is scheduled to appear on May 3.
Henry had been pastor since 2015, when he was transferred from Most Holy Trinity in Mamaroneck, which the Archdiocese of New York closed that year. Henry replaced the Rev. Matthew Fernan, who was reassigned to St. Eugene’s in Yonkers. St. Matthew and Our Lady of Perpetual Help merged in 2016.
The allegation is that the theft occurred between March 17-23, 2022. The last parish bulletin listing Henry as pastor was April 10. The April 17 bulletin listed the Rev. Daniel P. Tuite as temporary administrator. The Rev. Douglas Crawford has been pastor since June 1, 2022.
Henry resides outside Westchester, according to his attorney, Richard Ferrante. He has not been laicized and is without an assignment, according to Joseph Zwilling, the director of communications for the Archdiocese of New York. Henry was removed from the Rivertowns parish due to “some financial irregularities,” Zwilling said.
When asked if Henry’s legal defense is being paid for by the archdiocese, Ferrante responded, “I don’t usually discuss my compensation, or who’s paying me, but I can confirm that the archdiocese is not paying me.”
Ferrante declined to state whether the allegedly stolen funds had been recovered, noting the ongoing investigation into the case. Anna Young, the public information officer for the district attorney’s office, also declined to comment, noting that the case is in its early stages.
Lee Kinnally, a former mayor of Hastings and a member of the parish council at St. Matthew and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, said the council was “as in the dark as everybody else” regarding the allegation.
The maximum sentence for grand larceny in the second degree is five to 15 years in prison. In lieu of prison time, an individual found guilty could be placed on probation.
In 2008, Ferrante represented the Rev. Patrick Dunne, a former pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church in White Plains, who pled guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from that institution.
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