NEW YORK – Steve Anagnos, a former treasurer of the St. Spyridon parish in the Upper Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City, made several accusations about the parish’s finances in his 2012 letter of resignation.
Having written to Archbishop Demetrios and Chancellor Bishop Andonios of Phasiane on December 7 of that year, Anagnos alleged improprieties committed by the Rev. George Passias, Ethel Bouzalas – his mistress, their affair the cause of his recent removal from the church and the priesthood – and Parish Council President Steve Papadatos.
Anagnos wrote that “in 2008 with a rent roll of $750K, the buildings the Church owns produced a profit of at least $60K a year. Since 2009, after a $1.9M refinancing and an increasing rent roll (currently $1 million), President Papadatos, Treasurer Bouzalas and Fr. Passias continue to report that the Church still doesn’t receive any income from them. How is this possible?”
Anagnos also informed that “in one of the most recent spending fiascos, Father George and the president tried to bypass the normal processes and authorization to refinance the real estate for $3.5 million to further extract even more Church funds in order to waste this money on useless projects that would further encumber the Church.
“By December 2012, we accumulated $210,000 (which included $200K from a single donor) towards a $400K elevator project. It was deposited in the Church’s restricted account (Chase Manhattan Bank Restoration Account). By the end of January 2013, the money was removed. The president, treasurer, and priest refused to show bank statements showing what happened to it. No elevator contract was in place, as none has been authorized by the Parish Council. The Parish Council resolution voted upon in early summer 2012 clearly stated that no elevator work be done until the entire $400K was deposited in the restricted account.”
Anagnos also revealed that “in 2009, when I was the treasurer of record, Ethel Bouzalas, the Asst. Treasurer, electronically transferred in excess of $150,000 without Board approval or without my knowledge.
“School garden, School masonry and ironwork, School exterior lighting, School security cameras etc., a waste of money on the School, made unilaterally by Ethel and the priest while the Church receives nothing. A lot of these upgrades were claimed to be donated, when in fact we later found out that not to be the case. All financial controls were eliminated by then-Assistant Treasurer of the Parish Council Ethel Bouzalas and the priest in 2009.
“In 2009, the Real Estate Committee was disbanded and even though there was a unanimous General Assembly resolution to reinstate the Committee, the priest and president completely ignored it.
“Unnecessary and wasteful projects were implemented without proper procedures –no committees established, projects awarded without competitive bids. This ended up placing the Church in more debt.”
Regarding Papadatos, Anagnos wrote: “as you will see, the president of the Parish Council Steve Papadatos is also at fault. I tried to contact him many times about these issues……I’ve written letters, sent emails, asked questions at the Board meetings, and he’s continually ignored my requests. He is Father Passias’ propagandist, which is not surprising, considering that he came to Saint Spyridon already in alliance with Father Passias and his particular agenda.
Here is a sample of some of the wrongdoings that have taken place, a letter that I sent to President Papadatos:
“As a member of the Parish Council/Board of Trustees, I am formally requesting the following documents from June 2008 to the present: 1. A copy of all official (signed) minutes (Parish Council, General Assembly, and all Committees) including any and all reports (financial, real estate, school etc.); 2. All Financial Statements for the Church, School and Buildings, at a minimum on an annual basis; 3. A list of all bank accounts – list by bank with date the account was opened, opening and current balances;
- A copy of the monthly bank statements with cashed/cancelled checks (easy download); 5. A copy of all invoices from all projects; 6. A copy of all tax returns from the Church, School and real estate corporations; 7. A copy of any and all documents issued to any and all Parish Council members.”
Mr. Papadatos never acknowledged this letter and never followed up on my requests.
After the many ignored requests made and suspicious answers I received regarding actual bank balances at Parish Council meetings, I sent the president and priest a formal request by registered mail and email, demanding access to bank statements and official minutes – they refused. Is this a dictatorship? This was carbon copied to the office of the Chancellor and Finance Committee.
“As a long-time, dedicated member of Saint Spyridon and current member of the Board of Trustees, it is with a heavy heart that I must refuse reelection and immediately submit my resignation from the Parish Council.
“After much thought and much prayer, I have decided to vacate my position on the council because of several grievances that I and many other parishioners have with Father George G. Passias’ total lack of transparency and dismissive leadership.
“In this day and age when transparency is an absolute directive for any leader in both public and private sectors, I find it very discouraging that someone in Father George’s position can take advantage of his power and not have to answer for it.
“A lot of this abuse of power has been made possible by the fact that when he assumed his current position at the church, Father Passias had brought with him a number of new members from other churches – individuals who do not question his actions or his motives. Yes, they are paid members, but for the most part, they do not participate in the life of the church or the community. What they do is they come twice a year to attend general assembly meetings and cast their votes in favor of the priest’s agenda. Otherwise, we do not see these people the rest of the year. This has given him, and those who work closely with him, an abusive and unchecked power that has led to this ongoing pattern of gross misbehavior.
“It is because of the aforementioned iniquities that I have come to the decision to tender my resignation. Many lifelong members of the community – including Saint Spyridon’s esteemed Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate – share my indignation.
“Your Eminence, I urge you to revisit this situation, because the fate of the historic community of Saint Spyridon in Washington Heights, NY, is in jeopardy.”
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