Grand Jury Could Charge Mail or Wire Fraud In L.A. Clergy Sex Abuse Cover-Up

The Los Angeles Times reported today that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles has begun a grand jury investigation into the responses by Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, and possibly other top Catholic Church officials, to reports of sexual abuse by priests. In an innovative use of the federal mail and wire fraud statutes, the government is apparently attempting to show that in failing to remove accused priests and notify authorities of charges against them, Mahony deprived parishioners of "the intangible right of honest services." 18 USC Sec. 1346 defines such deprivations as fraudulent under the mail and wire fraud provisions. This provision has been used, for example, to charge public officials who have taken kickbacks, but it apparently has never before been used against clergy. Meanwhile Mahony's attorney says that the Cardinal is not a target of the grand jury investigation.