Five priests, one lay person indicted for embezzlement

(ANSA) - Savona, January 7 - Prosecutors in the northwestern city of Savona have indicted five clergymen and a lay person on suspicion of embezzling public funds, sources said Wednesday.
    The six allegedly misused public funding of a local affiliate of the National St. Paul Association for Oratories and Youth Clubs (ANSPI), moving the money to investment accounts or using it to pay new building mortgages instead of putting it into youth programs.
    Those named in the indictment are Fathers Alessandro Capaldi, Antonio Giusto, Giovanni Ghilardi, Giulio Grosso, and Natale Poligato, as well as ANSPI Stella Santa Giustina club president and legal representative, Olga Bonifacino.
    Father Giovanni Lupino reported the alleged wrongdoing, sparking an investigation that began in 2011.
    The trial begins in spring, sources said.
    Founded in 1965 and named after Pope Paul VI, ANSPI is a Catholic non-profit operating in 18 regions with more than 1,800 affiliated parish clubs.