Raffaello Follieri scandal

Uncommon card · No. 91822

This scandal involved accusations that Italian real estate developer Raffaello Follieri misappropriated an investment from Bill Clinton and billionaire Ronald Burkle meant to buy Roman Catholic churches in the United States. Follieri ultimately pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges in the U.S. and was sentenced to prison. On July 15, 2008, Bishop Joseph Anthony Galante of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, was implicated in the scandal by a New York Post article titled "A Deal with the Devil" that revealed that Follieri had bought Galante's beach house for $400,000 in 2007 shortly after Galante began the study that resulted in his 2008 announcement to sell off half of the Diocese's church properties. Following disclosure of the bishop's involvement in Vati-Con, the Council of Parishes of Southern New Jersey demanded "a complete halt to the Bishop’s planned church closure program". The Galante/Follieri beach house was put back on the market in 2008 and sold almost two years later for...

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