By Nick Stamatakis
“Did we not work together, with Fr. Alex Karloutsos, Michael Jaharis and many other dedicated individuals over these past 17 years to fight for St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at the World Trade Center?” asks Jerry Dimitriou (now indicted, given a plea bargain deal and awaiting a court date on March 20th) in his famous letter of January 2018 to AB Demetrios (JERRY DIMITRIOU LETTER-Jan-24-2018)… And yes, it is true that Fr. Karloutsos was involved in the St.Nicholas Ground Zero project every step of the way and in every aspect of it…
But of course, a few weeks before Jerry Dimitriou’s letter, Fr. Karloutsos, in the one and only “apologetic” letter he issued in over 40 years of so-called “leadership” in the GOA, dated Dec. 12, 2017, tried to “escape”: “As most of you know, my specialty has always been on the income side of the equation, not the expense side…” KARLOUTSOS – COUNTING THE COST 121219 (1) Really? You were involved only on the income side? If this is the case, please answer once and for all, how much was your commission in general and how much was your commission in the specific project of St.Nicholas at Ground Zero… Out of the $40 million that was raised, how much was the result of your fundraising? Let’s say it was $30 million… At a minimum of 10% as it is rumored you “charged” as “fundraising commission”, this is “a cool $3 mil”, that you “earned”, while everybody else was giving… Or was it 15%? Why don’t we know?
Do you realize how many “collection trays” in Sunday services for how many years and in how many hundreds of GOA churches were passed so the faithful collect the money for St.Nicholas? And how many donors gave out of the goodness of their hearts and their love for the Church and St.Nicholas, the “Saint of Giving”? How does it look that, out of all this giving of the faithful, you were the only one who enriched himself? (But it looks like there are others – otherwise the investigators would have already finished their job…) What gives you the right to collect commission on the donations for the Church that really made you the “well connected” personality you have become and gave you all the “power” you now think came as a personal gift to you from Above?…
Finally, all of you faithful please take a look at the two crosses, the one at St.Nicholas St.Nicholas Ground Zero on the left and the two in the Assumption Church in the Hamptons on the right, where Fr. Karloutsos is the presiding Priest. Should we ask again, as we did a few days ago, how many construction companies who did work in the Hamptons, also did work in Ground Zero? Please Fr.Karloutsos, indulge us with this information… We at least know the approximate cost of the Hamptons Church, which ranges between $25-30 million!! That amount alone speaks volumes!…
PS. It looks like the two interiors (projected design for St.Nicholas on the Left and actual for the Hamptons Assumption Church on the Right) are also similar…But why the icons at St.Nicholas are black and white, as if the blood came out of the Saints’ flesh? Please God give me enough patience not to answer this question…
February 28, 2020, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
