Catholic parish subpoenaed for information on business dealings between priest and key mayoral campaign aide

September 20, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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WILLIAMSBURG — A PROMINENT WILLIAMSBURG PARISH has been served with a subpoena for information on possible business dealings between its pastor and a former aide to Mayor Eric Adams, NBC News and the Daily News reports. NBC broke the story that federal prosecutors in Brooklyn delivered a subpoena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Williamsburg, in connection with business dealings between its popular pastor since 2017, Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, and Frank Carone, the mayor’s former chief-of-staff and who runs a lobbying firm that handles Adams’ re-election campaign.

According to court documents that the Daily News obtained, Carone and Gigantiello are partners in a corporate entity holding a stake in another company that is party to a civil lawsuit alleging insurance fraud. The federal investigation is in its early stages, and neither Gigantiello nor Carone have been accused of any wrongdoing. Sources told reporters that the two have been friends for decades. A spokesperson for the Diocese of Brooklyn told the Brooklyn Eagle in an email on Friday, “We cannot confirm or deny receipt of a subpoena. What I can say is the Diocese is fully committed to cooperating with law enforcement in all investigations, including of conduct at individual parishes or involving any priest.”

Gigantiello was at one point a lead fundraiser for the diocese’s Catholic schools’ Futures in Education program. He has also hosted a popular cooking show, titled “Breaking Bread,” on the diocesan DeSales Media’s Net TV.

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