An audit by the Louisiana inspector general reports that a church that received a quarter-million dollars in grants from the private Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation to build low-income housing for drug addicts actually used $160,000 for the its own operating expenses, plus bonuses for the pastor. Full text of the audit is available here (PDF).
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports:
A state audit released today claims the pastor of a Central City church known for its drug addiction programs misspent or wasted at least $160,000 in relief grants after Hurricane Katrina.
In addition, the State Inspector General’s audit also said that Elder John Pierre of Living Witness Church of God in Christ converted to personal use nearly $74,000 in rebuilding grants, without reporting the income to the Internal Revenue Service or state tax officials.
The report recommended that the state begin efforts to recapture the money and consider whether to open a criminal prosecution.
The state’s full report quotes Pierre as acknowledging that some funds were misspent. But in a formal reply attached to the report over the signature of Robert Jenkins, his lawyer, Pierre flatly denies “all wrongdoing and allegations.”
“While I’m anxious to tell my side of the story, I’ve been advised by my counselor not to make any statements,” Pierre said Wednesday.
Pierre, Pentecostal church’s lead pastor was also an Army veteran, father of six and leader in a long list of community organizations.
Last year, another pastor was sentenced for taking more than $350,000 in FEMA funds and property from Katrina victims. As I wrote then, seeing spiritual leaders succumb to greed and sin can make crimes seem worse, but we cannot ignore the good churches have done during disasters in order to focus on their missteps.
There are thousands of pastors in Louisiana who helped clean up, worship, feed, care for, pray, rescue, comfort, protect, rebuild, replace and fund New Orleans families and their homes after Katrina. Plus, congregations in the Houston area and across the country took part in relief efforts without selfish or criminal motives.