Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, pastor of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Williamsburg, has been removed from key duties after an investigation found he spent the church’s money on himself and doled out nearly $2 million in unauthorized loans to entities owned by Frank Carone, an influential advisor to Mayor Adams, the Diocese of Brooklyn said Monday.
The investigation, which was initiated after Gigantiello allowed pop star Sabrina Carpenter to film a music video at the church, found that loans totaling $1.9 million went to Carone’s law firm as well as two other companies affiliated with the former Adams chief of staff.
“I have also relieved Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, the current pastor, of any pastoral oversight or governance role at the Parish because he has mishandled substantial church funds and interfered with the administration of the Parish after being directed not to do so,” Bishop Robert Brennan said in a statement.
Federal authorities subpoenaed the church in September over possible dealings with Carone, who could not be reached immediately Monday for comment. No one has been charged in connection with that probe.
An internal investigation found that Gigantiello issued a million-dollar loan to Carone’s law firm, Abrams Fensterman LLP in January 2019 without the required approval or notification to the Diocese. It was repaid with 9% interest between June 2020 and June 2021, according to the release.
In August 2021 and November 2021, Gigantiello dug into the Parish coffers to make two more loans totaling $900,000 to two companies also affiliated with Carone: Cesco LLC and Lex Ave 660 Partners LLC. These transfers were also made without approval and without notifying the Diocese.
Gigantiello also used the church credit card for substantial personal expenses, the release said.
Gigantiello has served as lead pastor since 2017.
The internal review, conducted by firm Alvarez & Marsal and Sullivan & Cromwell, came after the pastor allowed singer Sabrina Carpenter to film a music video inside the church.
Carone, Adams’ first chief of staff, is now running a lobbying firm and is expected to chair the mayor’s 2025 reelection campaign.
Neither Carone nor Gigantiello — who are longtime friends — have been accused of any wrongdoing by the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s office.
Carone and Gigantiello are partners in a corporate entity called DMC Capital Group. Gigantiello holds a 7.5% stake and Carone’s family trust, which he controls, holds a 24.67% stake, business records show.
DMC Capital Group is an investor in and co-founded another corporate entity called Financial Vision Group IV, records show. Financial Vision was sued by GEICO in Brooklyn Federal Court last year in a civil suit alleging Financial Vision helped fund a scheme where doctors billed the insurance company for $3.5 million in no-fault medical procedures that either didn’t happen or weren’t necessary.
Bishop Witold Mroziewski, is now administrator of the Parish, according to the release.
The Parish’s temporary administrator, Deacon Dean Dobbins has also been relieved of duties after using “racist and other offensive language during private conversations” that were secretly recorded by Gigantiello, according to Brennan.
