The Archdiocese of Newark knew three years ago that one of its priests was "milking" an elderly parishioner for tens of thousands of dollars but took no action, allowing him to collect even more money from others for his personal use, a whistleblower clergyman contends.
The Rev. Alex Orozco, 37, allegedly accepted more than $250,000 in cash and goods from parishioners of St. Rose of Lima Church in Short Hills between the fall of 2012 and October 2014, when he transferred to a new post in Bergen County.
That largesse — including checks made out to cash, credit card payments, car purchases and at least $25,000 for a vacation home Orozco acknowledges he never bought — is the subject of an investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office
Within days, he said, he drove to the archdiocese's headquarters in Newark and spoke to the Rev. Joseph Petrillo, then director of priest personnel, and told him the story. A day later, he said, he had a phone conversation with Msgr. John Doran, then vicar general.
In both discussions, he said, he made clear he believed Orozco's behavior was out of line, bordering on predatory.
To the priest's knowledge, nothing came of the complaint, he said. Orozco remained in active ministry at St. Rose, where he continued to accept or solicit money, according to parishioners.
One woman, a widow, told NJ Advance Media she gave Orozco more than $125,000 in 2013 and 2014. She said she has since learned of others who gave smaller amounts.
"This is so wrong on the part of the priest, but also on the part of the archdiocese. It boggles my mind in this day and age, when we're so sensitive to priest misconduct," Zech said, referring to the sexual abuse crisis in the church. "For any red flag the archdiocese has on priest misbehavior, it's got to be acted on immediately. If they haven't gotten that message, they haven't been paying attention the past 15 years."
