Monsignor claimed extortion attempts
Richard Nangle,TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
During a cell phone conversation while driving his car on May 9, 2002, Msgr. Thomas. J. Sullivan alleges, Worcester lawyer James J. Gri-bouski attempted to extort money from the Worcester Catholic Diocese to settle a sexual abuse claim against Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger.
In making that allegation in pretrial testimony last month, Msgr. Sullivan contradicted a diocesan statement from last July which recanted the monsignor's public accusation of extortion against what was then termed an unnamed lawyer.
In a deposition last month, Msgr. Sullivan said he told Mr. Gribouski he had spoken by telephone with Bishop Rueger's accuser, Sime Braio of Shrewsbury, who he said threatened to go to the press if he could not obtain a monetary settlement.
Msgr. Sullivan said Mr. Gribouski responded, "Well, how about if the diocese would offer us some money and a confidentiality agreement?"
"I said two words to him, very hot. "Absolutely not,'" Msgr. Sullivan said. "We hung up - oh, then at that point he said, "Then I've just decided I will not be representing Mr. Braio.'"
Msgr. Sullivan said he was incensed by what he termed an immoral request by Mr. Gribouski, one he believed was an attempt at extortion.
"I'd say it this way: When there is - knowing that the case has no merits, and believing fully in my heart that Mr. Gribouski at that time also realized that the case had no merits, to simply ask the question, would the diocese be willing to pay money and have a confidentiality agreement over the matter, is immoral," he said.
On Friday, Mr. Gribouski responded to Msgr. Sullivan's comments this way:
"I have a practice of not commenting on pending cases. Msgr. Sullivan is entitled to his own opinion although I disagree with his opinion. I also want to remind you that his employer issued a retraction stating that I did nothing wrong and counsel for the diocese stated for the record in open court that they do not allege that I did anything wrong. I stand on my reputation as an attorney in this community."
The court hearing Mr. Gribouski referred to was in November, when a judge ruled the lawyer could be deposed by the diocese in connection with the Braio case.
Mr. Gribouski has said he decided not to represent Mr. Braio after receiving a letter from a psychiatrist who concluded that his symptoms could not be related to sexual abuse.
Mr. Braio's lawsuit alleges that Bishop Rueger, then a parish priest, began sexually molesting him in the early 1960s when he was 13. The suit alleges that the abuse resulted in behavior that landed Mr. Braio in the former Lyman School for Boys in Westboro.
The diocese has said its own investigation cleared Bishop Rueger of any wrongdoing. Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte said his office and state police investigators found the charges were unsubstantiated.
Mr. Braio eventually hired Houston lawyer Daniel J. Shea to represent him and file a lawsuit.
Bishop Daniel P. Reilly has said the diocese might pursue criminal extortion charges against Mr. Braio.
The diocese claims that on at least three occasions, Mr. Braio attempted to extort up to $10,000 from church officials in exchange for his silence on the matter. Mr. Conte's office is investigating the diocese's accusations of extortion attempts.
In the deposition, Msgr. Sullivan said during an initial conversation with Mr. Gribouski on Feb. 26, 2002, the lawyer never said he was actually representing Mr. Braio:
"He said that he was considering representing him. I sensed from the tone of his remarks that he was uncertain as to whether he would take on the case or not. He did say to me, "I'm not going to put a whole lot of time into this if it's going nowhere.'"
Prior to that, Msgr. Sullivan said, Mr. Braio had contacted him, also in an attempt to extort money. He gave details of the conversation in the deposition:
Msgr. Sullivan: "Well, it began by his not even remembering the name of the alleged assailant. He began by saying that, "The one who lives with the bishop.' No, no, he didn't say that. "The one that lives with the head one of the diocese molested me.' Well, you can imagine my alarm, because I am the only person that was living with the bishop.
Mr. Shea: "I understand."
Msgr. Sullivan: "So I wondered myself, "Is this person making an allegation against me?' Then later in the conversation he referred to him as Father Rueger, and not Bishop Rueger, and I said anybody in the world of Worcester County would know this is not Father Rueger, this is Bishop Rueger."
Mr. Shea: "But he did refer to him as Father Rueger."
Msgr. Sullivan: "Later on."
Mr. Shea: "Did he come up with the name Rueger or did you suggest that name to him?"
Msgr. Sullivan: "I don't recall."
And later on:
Msgr. Sullivan: "... his allegation was that Father Rueger molested him at his family home in Scituate, but I've known Father and Bishop Rueger so well that I knew there was no family home in Scituate. And that he would take him out on weekend trips from the Lyman School, and I know Father Rueger - at the time he was Father - would not have been away weekends, you know. He was running a parish all by himself."
Msgr. Sullivan said he visited Mr. Braio at his home on May 10, 2002, the day after his last conversation with Mr. Gribouski, and that Mr. Braio again attempted to extort money from the diocese.
The monsignor's allegation contradicts that of a man who rents a basement apartment from Mr. Braio. Glen Alexander has said in a sworn deposition that he heard the conversation in question and that Mr. Braio made no request for money.
Mr. Alexander said it was Msgr. Sullivan who offered Mr. Braio a monetary settlement.
Msgr. Sullivan said Mr. Braio threatened on more than one occasion to go "to the press, to (Telegram & Gazette reporter) Kathleen Shaw, tell her everything, and she'll print the story."
Mr. Shea pressed Msgr. Sullivan on whether Bishop Rueger should have continued to have access to the diocesan archive after the allegation against him first surfaced.
Msgr. Sullivan said he never considered denying Bishop Rueger access to the archive because he never believed Mr. Braio was telling the truth.
Richard Nangle can be reached by e-mail at rnangle@telegram.com.