Lawyer calls sex claims ‘absurd’

An attorney for Monsignor Dale Fushek of Mesa’s St. Timothy Catholic Community on Friday called the latest accusations of sexual misconduct with a child "an absurd collection of stories . . . to extort money."

The complaint filed Thursday by William J. Cesolini, now 33, of Gilbert, centers on a 1985 assault allegation and also names youth minister Phil Baniewicz of Mesa, who cofounded Life Teen.

Cesolini attributed repressed memories, or dissociative amnesia, for only now stepping forward.

Michael Manning, Fushek’s attorney, called the lawsuit a "reprehensible tragedy" on Friday. It’s an "absurd coll- ection of stories made up for the purpose of trying to extort money," he said. Manning emphasized that Cesolini originally made no mention of Fushek’s presence when his 1985 memories were recalled in 2003.

"Suddenly in 2005, he recovers the memory once again and Monsignor Dale is standing by watching this occur?" Manning asked.

Manning said he wants the issue resolved quickly. "It will either be thrown out in court or tried, and he’ll be acquitted."

In December, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, stunned parishioners at St. Timothy with news that Fushek, its high-profile, longtime pastor, was being put on administrative leave pending investigation into possible child sexual abuse incidents in 1985 in the parish.

A new jolt came Thursday when Fushek and Baniewicz were named in a civil lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court alleging complicity in the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy.

Defendants also include the Phoenix diocese; Olmsted; Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien, former diocese leader; Life Teen; and Mark Lehman, a seminarian who has served 10 years in prison for molesting students at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School in Phoenix.

"The Life Teen ministry will not be affected by the lawsuit," spokeswoman Jennifer Swanson said Friday. "We continue to believe the initial claims made against Monsignor Dale are false and are even more outrageous now that they include Phil Baniewicz."

Cesolini claims Fushek masturbated while watching another priest sexually abuse him. Cesolini claims Fushek served alcohol to him, and that he was also "sexually abused by defendant Baniewicz." Cesolini claims Lehman, Fushek and Baniewicz threatened him and used their "positions of power" in the church to keep him quiet.

Those events lay buried deep in his psyche, Cesolini claimed, until 2003 when another priest made a sexual advance toward him, triggering a recall that came forth during a subsequent counseling session.

Manning said Fushek, a former vicar-general who has held many major responsibilities in the diocese, is "very upset with these allegations" and frustrated he cannot get back to his life’s work of ministry.

Frank Verderame, Cesolini’s attorney said he was still trying to calculate what his client should seek monetarily.

He said Cesolini is likely to need therapy all his life.

"Billy’s life was derailed by these actions," he said.

Olmsted announced Dec. 29 that the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office would investigate the complaint.

The diocese paid $45,000 in an out-of-court settlement in 1995 in a sexual harassment suit brought by a young adult male against Fushek.

The bishop’s office issued a statement in response to the lawsuit.

"We are the family of God," the diocesan statement read. "It is always difficult when members of that family get involved in legal actions." But it said "mercy and love" would be be extended to all parties.

Some 20 parishioners approached at St. Timothy on Friday declined to talk about the most recent allegations.

Kate Gertz, a staff member at the church, questioned the veracity of memories repressed 20 years ago by a man who was 14 at the time.

"We are continuing on," she said. "It definitely has an effect on people. But we are all surviving and we are all having faith that this will pass and the truth will be told."