By Nick Stamatakis
AUDIO OF MICHAEL PSAROS SPEECH ON LEADERSHIP 100 CONFERENCE
Michael Psaros’ explanatory speech about St.Nicholas National Shrine Finances (last Friday in Leadership 100 Conference) was a real tragicomedy, as he kept insisting that the PWC report answered all questions and there is nothing left open anymore… When the relatively friendly audience in Palm Beach asked some reasonable questions, Psaros not only got nervous and raised the tone of his voice many times, but he had to be cut short for the fear of more questions! Even more, the Leadership 100 website posted all kinds of videos from the Palm Beach conference – except the one that matters the most, Psaros’ speech!! Thanks to our omnipresent resistance network the audio of this speech is saved for all of you to listen…
The two PWC reports (PWC REPORT ST NICHOLAS MAY 18 and PWC REPORT ST NICHOLAS OCT 18) leave many unanswered questions. Here are some of the many issues that Mr. Psaros failed to address:
- If the PWC audit found no wrongdoing then why is the St.Nicholas Shrine still under federal investigation?
- Is Psaros aware that the PWC report declares that Papadakos and Dimitriou, the two top finance officers at GOA (now both indicted), declined to be interviewed for the report? These two officers were indicted AFTER the supposedly “all good” report was published…. Also, Skanska, the main construction company, refused to be interviewed…
- Why doesn’t the PWC reports refer, not even ONCE, to Fr.Karloutsos and his multiple liabilities? Was AB Demetrios the only one who made mistakes? Wasn’t Fr.Karloutsos part of the small team that worked for St.Nicholas? Didn’t he make millions in fundraising “commission” for himself? Wasn’t his presvytera and son employed for decades by GOA – doing next to nothing – at a huge salary over $200.000/yr? Wasn’t he employed as a chaplain by the Port Authority at the same time as he was part of the St.Nicholas team (a clear conflict of interest)? How about the money ($10 million!!) allegedly sent to the Phanar out of the funds raised for St.Nicholas? These are very serious allegations by an experienced former State Dept. official…
- Who is responsible for the selection of the higher bidder, Skanska? It does not seem to be AB Demetrios. Then who? Fr.Karloutsos, Jerry Dimitriou, or someone else? The October 2018 PWC report (page 8) says specifically: “Documents provided included no rationale for why the GOA selected Skanska”…
- Has PWC or anyone else for that matter researched whether Fr.Karloutsos is related with any of the construction firms or legal firms employed by SNCNS ? For example, has anyone requested a list of the construction firms that have done work in his Hamptons Church – work that cost many millions also? Why doesn’t he save us (and the prosecutors) some time and provide that list on his own?
- How can Psaros say that nothing illegal happened, when we all know that money was taken out of a “restricted account”? How pathetic is to take money out of a 911 fund?
- If “Faith” and “Leadership 100” are now ready to violate their charters and donate money, why didn’t they do it three years ago? Why should the Church and the Greek American community be embarrassed so that Bartholomew and Karloutsos force AB Demetrios to resign? If “Faith” and “Leadership” allowed the GOA get a mortgage while they could help (during 2018 and before), how can they be trusted in the future? Does Psaros think that his (ridiculously void of answers) speech will cover the wrongdoers? The fact that he paid PWC with his own money does not mean that he can misrepresent their report in any way he wishes…
- Why doesn’t the PWC report say a word about the ALMA Bank mortgage which took place between in July 2018 (in the period between the two PWC reports?) If PWC did not question the mortgage, how can we say the report is complete?
- What will the real nature of the Shrine be? Is there a plan to turn it into a Stavropygiac (Patriarchal) Foundation – one of the many Constantinople has established around the world, including in Kiev and in New York (St.Irene Chrysovalantou) to play the role of income properties? If so, when does the Patriarchate, plan to come clean and offer transparency for its foundations? From a recent research it seems that every foundation they manage is ridden with financial scandals… Finally, since the Turkish authorities do not allow the Patriarchate to incorporate, why the Patriarchate does not establish a non-profit substitute corporation in Europe? When will they stop finding excuses for dealing with cash in suitcases?
Does the Patriarchate and the Archdiocese realize that they have completely lost the trust of the faithful? Do they realize that the only way to regain it is to come clean and establish transparency procedures at all levels? Why should we wonder whether Karloutsos’s presvytera and son were getting paid $200.000 or $250.000 each per year? Aren’t we entitled by federal law to know? When will the Patriarchate stop the practice of using suitcases of cash and jewelry travelling to Constantinople, from all parts of the globe and especially from Athens and New York…
Frankly, none of the faithful have any trust that they will ever establish transparency. And so we are left with one choice only:TO FREE THE CHURCH OF AMERICA FROM THEIR CORRUPT PRESENCE!
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THE WHISTLEBLOWER COMMENTS ON PSAROS’ SPEECH
We have passed the audio of Michael Psaros’ speech last Friday at the Leadership 100 conference to the Whistleblower (who is responsible for starting the criminal federal investigation on the GOA and the St. Nicholas Shrine) and here are his comments:
PSAROS: “Construction of St. Nicholas is perhaps the greatest single embracement to the Greek orthodox community…”
WHISTLEBLOWER: It is also a Global Embarrassment to all faiths on the planet. Since the “Shrine” is classified as a non-denominational bereavement center open to all faiths and religions, about 85% of the world’s population believes in religious groups or a higher power. Magnificent the “Shrine” is an embarrassment to around 5.5 billion people. I am sure the community leaders will be giving themselves an award for that achievement also.
PSAROS: “It’s wrapped in a hefty bag”
WHISTLEBLOWER: Yes, because of the G.O.A. and the Archons only!
PSAROS: “Friends of Saint Nicholas”
WHISTLEBLOWER: Sorry, you have no friends left. Only the same Archons and G.O.A. leadership who got us in this mess in the first place. A “Shrine” shut down in disgrace. Then you formed a new foundation, Friends of Saint Nicholas, that also failed.
Now we have friends, 2.0! Seriously? No one is giving any money to this, but the Archons, the rest of us 99% of the community, are not stupid enough to give money for Saint Nicholas while the project is currently under Federal Investigation.
To the thousands of REAL ORTHODOX Greeks in our church that read this. Would you or any person or company you know give money to a “Shrine” that is 60 million over budget and under Federal Investigation? I think we all know the answer to that simple and logical question. Unfortunately, Leaderless, Faithless, and the Archons do not follow logic and their charters on donations.
PSAROS: “If it was not of Gov. Cuomo we would lose our church”
WHISTLEBLOWER: Once again, the “Truly Faithful” would not be in a position of losing the church in the first place. It was because of the acts of the wrongdoers (many I suspect are still awaiting criminal charges) that we needed help from the Governor. Not to mention the complete violation of the separation of church and state.
PSAROS: “We need to raise 42 million dollars”
WHISTLEBLOWER: No, you mean we need 42 million more. It’s over $82 million now and $23,000.00 per sq. ft! It should be around $700.00 per sq.ft. It would be cheaper if you made it out of solid gold.
PSAROS: “Faith gives 20 million”
WHISTLEBLOWER: Great… “Faithless” and the “Archons Clubhouse” give $20 million… The same people who let the “Shrine” sit under plastic for two years, now give the cash. Why didn’t they give it three years ago? Why did they not offer to save the HCHC – instead of begging for $2 million a year from the government of bankrupt Greece? Aren’t they ashamed asking money from Greece the moment that between “Faith” and “L100” they have over $200 million? Just the HCHC property alone is worth between $100-200 million…
News flash to all “Archons” in name only: the world is tired of cleaning up after you. Everything you touch winds up in ruin. People have lost all faith in you!
PSAROS: “The National Shrine was not going to be built by a bunch of GOYA kids having bake sales”
WHISTLEBLOWER: Yes, the 99% did come up with enough money – more than enough to build 3 “shrines”! You were collecting CASH from Sunday services for 15 years…
PSAROS: “10 million people will go through the church every year”
WHISTLEBLOWER: Really? 27,000 + people a day will go through the church? Madison Square Garden can hold 20,798 people. You are going to have more people than that every day enter the “Shrine”? The “Shrine” holds about 100 people it is a very small, not a tourist attraction. The only thing people will be asking (as they walk past the shrine) will be, why does this little building just 40 feet tall that looks more like a Mosque then a Greek Church cost 80 million?
PSAROS: “It’s a beacon of Orthodoxy.”
WHISTLEBLOWER: Oh, it is a “beacon” for sure… I just rewired your “beacon” into a S.O.S. signal for the Feds to come in and finally save the Faithful from the G.O.A.
PSAROS: “All of this will be forgotten”.
WHISTLEBLOWER: No not now, not till the end of the existence of time! The “shrine” is not only a GOA / ARCHON global embarrassment, and it disrespects all 911 victims and their families. Did you ever apologize to them or anyone? The G.O.A. and Archons never apologize; they only screw things up and have everyone else clean up after them.
PSAROS: “Every dollar was spent with this wishes of the donors.”
WHISTLEBLOWER: Really, I know many donors who are not happy – they weren’t asked or mentioned. I guess the 99% don’t get a voice… Only the “Archons” are offered “plaques” with their name placed on the “Shrine.”
PSAROS: “This will be our Parthenon.”
WHISTLEBLOWER: You are definitely not the Greeks who built the Parthenon.
February 25, 2020, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
