By Nick Stamatakis
Two weeks after he was caught on video to misrepresent the facts and threaten the whistleblower of an ongoing criminal federal investigation and the press, the V.P. of the Archdiocesan Council, John Catsimatidis, repeated his threats of a lawsuit against those who are exposing the damaging facts of corruption in the Archdiocese and the related non-profit organizations. It was an attempt to scare all those who dare to stand up to him and his billions, to his “Koumbaro” Karloutsos with his history of corruption/arrogance/hypocrisy and to all others who form a network of self-serving business deals, undermining GOA. All those who do not have much to do with the Church of Christ, but have everything to do with making (and hiding) money within the Church and in the name of the Church… As I have said before, it would be better if they formed an exclusive country club…
But let’s take Catsimatidis’ missteps one by one in today’s interview (excerpt at the bottom). Today we will focus on his attacks against the Freedom of the Press, leaving for another day the illegalities concerning the donations from “Faith Endowment” and “Leadership 100”:
- He says nothing about the ongoing investigation – and this fact alone would have his lawyers “freak out”. Does he realize that just the video of his speech in Brooklyn could send him to jail for obstruction of justice, among other violations?
- Does he realize that one of the most sacred freedoms in this wonderful country of ours is the Freedom of the Press, inscribed in stone by the First Amendment of our Constitution? In the same way he had every right to come out and say all kinds of “slanderous” things against former Archbishop Demetrios, either in his radio show or in public, everybody else has the right to express their opinions. He called for Arch.Demetrios’ resignation repeatedly because of “mismanagement” and “old age”, but he did not say one word about the millions his “Koumbaro”, Fr.Karloutsos, made as “kickbacks” from the donations he collected in the name of the Church of Christ… Nor did he mention anything about the fact that presvytera Xanthi and Mike (aka “Fredo”) Karloutsos were getting paid $200,000/yr each by GOA to do next to nothing!!
- It is obvious that Catsimatidis, Karloutsos and Co. are used to having the National Herald hide all the facts and cover all the inconvenient truths about them. Now that the power of the internet allows less powerful or “moneyed” people to shed light on their illegalities, they are naturally upset. Well, it’s time for them to shape up! This is exactly why the Founders of this great country made sure we enjoy our basic freedoms!
- Does he realize that in a case of a lawsuit he will open a “can of worms” that will include subpoenas of all records for GOA, Faith, Leadership 100, and all related foundations? And subpoenas for all officials including the Archbishop, Karloutsos and others… Does he realize that GOA, of which he is the VP, and all related foundations have violated the federal law for non-profits and do not disclose many of the statements and facts they are obligated to make public?
- Catsimatidis refers to “two bloggers, one in Florida and one in New York”, without naming them… And he calls them “low life” people who have a “bad reputation”… Does he realize that he is part of the leadership of our Church and not a gang member in NYC’s poor neighborhoods? What does AB Elpidophoros have to say about his behavior?
It’s plain as daylight that he did not consult his lawyers… As a graduate of the Law School of the University of Athens at the top 10% of my class (yes, the law is the law anywhere in the world – despite procedural changes and differences in general jurisprudence), I would invite him to take some of the free legal advice above. I am not sure if he was referring to my writings – he did not mention names (smart move – it delayed a possible counter lawsuit)… But just in case he was referring to me personally, I would like to invite him – and all the readers in the Greek American community – to take a look at my “short bio”, showing an education that includes, in addition to the Law degree, an M.A. and a Ph.D (and yes, they are not fake…)… Here is the link in Greek and here you can see it in English… (SHORT BIO-English)
If he really wants to find “lowlife” with truly “bad reputations” he has to look closer to home…
PS. Someone please rush a dictionary to Mr. Catsimatidis… It looks like he does not understand a few of the English words I used above…
PS 2. What happened to George Venizelos, former FBI of NY director and now Catsimatidis’ chief of staff? We thought that he was the one who would take care of the “bad” press people… Mr. Venizelos knows better – and if he doesn’t know I am sure his former FBI colleagues explained to him exactly the limitations of his position. Unfortunately this was one more careless “misstep” by the hopeful candidate for mayor of NYC…
February 13, 2020, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
HERE IS PART OF HIS INTERVIEW IN TNH…
TNH: How are things going at the Archdiocese?
John Catsimatidis: Some low-life people are writing negative conversations on Web Sites about me, Fr. Alex, the Archbishop, and the Archdiocese, I have made a decision we are going after them.
TNH: In what way?
JC: Legally. They have a very-very bad reputation themselves.
TNH: When do you plan to file the lawsuits?
JC: Next week or two. There is one guy in Florida in the Tampa-Clearwater area and there is one guy in New York. We are going to sue them for ten million dollars each.
TNH: Are you going to sue them on behalf of the Archdiocese?
JC: I am suing them on behalf of myself, my friends. I will be paying the lawyers; the Archdiocese will not be spending any money.”
TNH: Have you hired the lawyers?
JC: We have top lawyers.
TNH: What is making you do this Mr. Catsimatidis?
JC: Because I believe in our Church; I believe in the Archdiocese and people that put out false information on the Internet should be held accountable. The way to hold them accountable is that you force them into court and they have to repeat what they said under oath. All the stuff they are saying it is grossly wrong.
TNH: Are you also going against the internet companies?
JC: It is up to lawyers. We are defiantly going against the individuals.
