The Board of Trustees, in an email to the University community on Tuesday, broke its silence about its ongoing investigation in the wake of published reports detailing the roles of Rev. Donald J. Harrington and his chief of staff Robert Wile in the Cecilia Chang embezzlement scandal.
Without explicitly naming Harrington or Wile with regards to the scandal, Board of Trustees chair Peter D’Angelo said the investigation by outside counsel Frank Wohl is “ongoing” and that the Board “directed that it be thorough and comprehensive.”
D’Angelo did not set a timeline for its report to be completed, saying only that the Board “is committed to resolving this matter as quickly as possible.”
The email comes after the Torch reported on its website that five members of the history department started a petition directed to the Board of Trustees urging for more transparency in the investigation process. At the time the Torch went to print, the petition had 56 faculty signatures. D’Angelo said in the emailed statement that the Board wished to “provide the University community with some information concerning the genesis of this situation and the process that the Board is following in dealing with these serious matters.”
The email chronicled the history of the scandal, stemming from the $1 million embezzlement allegedly committed by deceased dean Cecilia Chang revealed in 2010, detailing the University’s cooperation with authorities in providing “all documents and witnesses requested by the prosecutors, and two University officials, Father Harrington and General Counsel Joseph Oliva, testified as prosecution witnesses at Dr. Chang’s trial.”
Chang committed suicide on Nov. 6 and U.S. District Judge Sterling Johnson declared a mistrial.
A report by New York Magazine alleged that Wile used a Taishin credit card, given to him at the suggestion of Chang, for personal expenses, including a trip to the Caribbean Island Turks and Caicos (accompanied by his then-girlfriend and Father Harrington), designer clothing in Hong Kong and other personal items at restaurants and liquor stores.
D’Angelo pleaded for patience from the University community, saying the investigation would take some time and urged for “the University community to reject any premature judgments about this process and its conclusions.”
In the wake of the published reports detailing Wile’s expenses as well as his business relationship with Harrington that was not reported to the Board, many students and faculty expressed outrage to The Torch last month.
D’Angelo also described Harrington’s 23 years at St. John’s as “distinguished” in Tuesday’s email and said the Board is “proud of St. John’s and its accomplishments under Father Harrington’s leadership.
