PHOTOS: Both photos of the post were published in the Greek Reporter.
By Nick Stamatakis
In an apparent P.R. move designed to change the negative climate that surrounds him and his son Mike, Karloutsos proceeded to several announcements and news pieces the last few days. In the most “daring” among them, he attempted to kill many birds with one stone in an interview with “Greek Reporter (link here), where he did not hesitate to admit that the plan to finish St.Nicholas on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 is dead!
“I need to finish the St. Nicholas Church by next year, I will be organizing the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s visit to the U.S., in the Fall of 2021, and I will be continuing my efforts to set up and advance the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation,” he tells Greek Reporter.
In admitting that the Church will not finish this year Karloutsos verifies what we already have learned from various sides and have reported: At least $15 million that supposedly were pledged are missing and this is the main reason why the “Shrine” cannot finish. It’s truly a huge embarrassment for GOA, after all we have been through, to admit that the “Shrine” will not be done.
In all recent photos, Karloutsos seems unusually casual and unkempt, wearing no collar and clearly in a state of anxiety if not panic. Obviously, there are too many things in his mind, not the least of which regards the lawsuits against Mike on the case of the Greek medical marijuana. But there are other concerns, as the St.Nicholas construction is still under investigation and the court date (January 2022) for Jerry Dimitriou comes closer. Nobody knows how the case will evolve and what kind of a deal Mr. Dimitriou may cut with the prosecutors. One thing is for sure: Jerry Dimitriou holds a lot of cards (read: evidence) in his hands.
In the meantime, Karloutsos wants us to believe things that are completely unreal for those of us who had followed his “fundraising career” closely. He wants us to believe that “he never received a fundraising fee”!! Here is the exact quotation from Greek Reporter:
“I have raised over $300 million for the Greek Orthodox Community in the US and around the world,” he tells Greek Reporter. “I did not give $300 million, but I raised it. I never received a bonus or a percentage of the money I raised. I do not have a high regard for money for myself. I have a high regard for money for the Church and the community,” he adds.
To such a statement, there is only one way to answer – with another question: “Would you be willing to make such a statement under oath?” We very much doubt it… Forget about examining his net worth and his assets… Oh, I forgot, he believes that the faithful are stupid enough to not realize that someone in his position, dealing with billionaires all the time, has not discovered a way to hide assets under “corporations”, foundations, exotic bank accounts, children, grandchildren, etc… Sleep easy Karloutsos, we are all stupid… Yes, we believe you, you never got a “fundraising fee”…
“I retired but I did not retreat”, he repeats and he lists the many ways he will continue to handle money… This time for the Patriarch, through the Patriarch Bartholomew Foundation… He has already received pledges for $6.5 million!… The goal is to make the Patriarchate independent from possible “shaky” sources, like …Greece!! Yes, my friends, to Karloutsos Greece (that provides an alleged $10 million a year IN CASH to the Phanar) is a shaky source of money!… How about Ukraine, Karloutsos? Is Ukraine a shaky source of money also? How many times was Met. Emmanuel seen leaving Ukraine with a suitcase of cash going straight to Switzerland to deposit it in the personal bank accounts they hold together with Pat. Bartholomew? How about the “deep state” and other sources of money in Washington DC? You mean to tell us that Pat. Bartholomew played all this risky game in Ukraine and caused a “Schism” in World Orthodoxy without getting any money? How about the Vatican? How much money does the kiss you and AB Elpidophoros (here is the link for AB Elpidophoros) gave to the Pope’s hand cost? Some sources say a couple of million annually… You do not kiss the Pope’s hand without a good reason!… You do not plan for a common Catholic-Orthodox Easter in 2025 without getting something in exchange!
Karloutsos ends by rehashing his close relationship with Joe Biden-opoulos… He gave “Greek Reporter” these old photos but somehow he forgot to present any photos from the Biden inauguration!.. Did he miss it? Was he at the inauguration or he missed it? What’s the story?… Is his star fading in DC?
Conclusion: Karloutsos pretends that he is done with ministry and the Church… But the reality is that the Church is done with him…
April 8, 2021, n.stamatakis@aol.com, www.helleniscope.com
Is Saint Nicholas on high not allowing this ecumenical shrine to happen?
86 million dollars??
It is clear that we are dealing with the “Curse of St.Nicholas”… Stay tuned…
One crook is kissing the hand of the other crook.
Did you observe , the way is touching Pop’s hand
and the way he is kissing it?
Please explain what you see Stelios,
in what way is Rev. Karloutsos kissing hand of Pope Francis??
Kinda gross looking
See the way is holding Pope’s hand.
Have you ever seen any Christian kissing clergy’s
hand to hold the hand?
By the way, Dimitri Gatanas was your father?
If Yes then we have met at the governor’s island
I was president of the Panchiaki Korais Society.
The Karloutsos “fee system” could have been by way of a corporate American Express Platinum Card which was paid by GOA. Therefore, charges were treated as approved expenditures and never appeared on his W-2, but in the GOA financial statements and schedules under “expenses”. Under a system like this, abuse is hard to prove and he owes no taxes.
If someone can charge the Amex Card $10,000 or even $20,000 a month under the guise of so-called “approved” fundraising expenses, and have few or no rules for what can “expensed”, while raising the so-called $300M, and if none of that is taxable, well, that’s a great commission system, isn’t it?
There are a dozen ways to pass money as a reward, including employment of family members with inflated salaries and few duties. Wealthy, pandering Archons and their society can perform many favors of high value that are not reported as income like offering vacations and loans.
I would speculate that most or all of these schemes occurred with Alex and with others as well. It’s a Byzantine practice to behave this way.
That said, Alex is a pitiable figure these days, for sure. A fall 2021 Bart trip to the US is going to be largely a bust. People have had enough of Bart, Elpi, and Alex and put them in the same category as Covid, for which an inoculation and immunity are needed.
Use of GOA credit cards by Karloutsos, son Mike and presbytera Xanthi is verified and is part of the federal investigation into GOA finances and operation.
I think he might have used corporations to hide real estate and other assets.
The Patriarch’s visit is certainly a bust before it even started… The “curse of St. Nicholas” is unfolding before our eyes…
… Whoever does the current public relations must be spinning overtime to try to depict the green new (deal/steal) themed upcoming visit … They will of course, attract all denominations of east/west coast lefties, who view the new green steal basically as their “religion”… the p.r .will spin his visit as a major attraction- a magnet for all the lefties on both coasts…. Money will pour in from celebrities.. stay tuned…
Helleniscope–Follow-up— Remembering that a once beloved Pope came down a Manhattan avenue in the 1980’s, in a white Pope-Mobile…I’m in my 70’s now– was working in a public relations firm, and we all thought it was awe-inspiring! Maybe our Pat. can ride thru NYC or Frisco in an electric car! Oh the luck of the Greek billionaires on the left! They have the media, the corporations, the celebrities, the globalists, the dems— oh no–“Helleniscope”– this visit is most likely bought and paid for by the above mentioned!
The problem with Bart’s appearance in a NYC parade is that the American public will think it’s the musicians ZZ Top or the head of the Taliban. Maybe Alex can arrange for the little Greek boys and girls of Astoria and Brooklyn to toss tightly-foil-wrapped GYROS and CHICKEN SOUVLAKIS at pedestrians on the street and attract a crowd that way.
But at the very least, the kids have to lay palm branches ahead of His All Holiness’s path, oh, and rose peddles, like they did for ST ELPI’s arrival.
They have no idea who Bart is and think he’s a Crown Heights rabbi or Muslim terrorist. So much for the GOA joke public relations reputation.
This arrogant j/a needs to tuck his head in his armpit and slink off in shame already. Who does he think he is?! Why is this is HIS project to finish? Because he beclowned the Church, because he faces criminal charges (?), because everyone else has distanced themselves from its stench?
And the whole GOA, for trudging along with this embarrassing circus, looks small and incapable indeed. And the ‘big sell’ from the get-go was how ‘prestigious’ it would make us look. rotflmao!
As my Italian friends would say, basta!