By AMLi Correspondents
AN ITALIAN priest dubbed “Don Euro” by parishioners who grew weary of his constant demands for donations has been jailed for extorting money from an ex bishop.
Investigators uncovered a bank account in which defrocked parish priest Fr Luca Morini deposited €700,000, and a further €150,000 had been invested in diamonds.
Morini was found not guilty of charges related to drug dealing and money laundering. He was also acquitted of a charge of extortion against a nun.
Details of the double life of Luca Morini were outlined in court at Massa Carrara in northern Italy. His crimes on Wednesday last earned the former cleric – since defrocked by the Vatican (pictured) seven and a half years in prison.
Prosecutors outlined how parish donations were used to fund “Don Euro’s” expensive penchants for sex workers, swingers’ parties, diamonds and luxury holidays.
The court case has astonished locals who had thought of the priest as good-natured and pious.
Originally from the Tuscan town of Pontasserchio, Morini spent money on his lovers, “mostly” young men who would accompany him to swingers’ clubs, sparing no expense.
A local newspaper reports the former priest was also convicted of impersonation after pretending to be a magistrate while hiring male sex workers.
The cleric’s crimes were discovered after an investigation was launched in 2015 when a sex worker contacted police about his spending, claiming that he had posed as a magistrate.
Informant
The informant was to become one of four men who brought a case against Morini for false identity and compensation totalling €14,000 by the court.
One of the men told the court he had met the priest in a gay sex club in Naples.
“He was with a young man who we had sex with. He told me he was a magistrate, he promised he would help me start a career as a lawyer since I have a law degree,” said the man, who gave evidence covered by a white sheet to protect his anonymity.
“He said he would introduce me to the jet set and make me rich,” added the man, who claimed Morini had sniffed drugs from a table in the club.
After his lawyers said that he had been suffering from mental illness, Morini was handed a reduced sentence, despite prosecutors seeking eight-and-a-half-years’ jail.
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