The bishop of a small Chaldean Catholic community in the San Diego area has resigned amid charges that he embezzled $270,000 from his parish, Pope Leo XIV announced Tuesday.
Bishop Emanuel Shaleta pleaded not guilty on Monday to 16 felony charges, including money laundering, during a hearing attended by many of his supporters.
Shaleta, 69, is accused of embezzling from the St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in El Cajon, east of San Diego.
He was arrested Thursday at San Diego International Airport while trying to leave the country, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, which didn’t say where he was allegedly heading. Someone from Shaleta’s church provided a statement and documentation “showing potential embezzlement from the church,” it said.
Prosecutor Joel Madero said the allegations against Shaleta are connected to monthly rental payments of more than $30,000 from a tenant of the church’s social hall that allegedly were missing. He said there were discrepancies in church accounts and that Shaleta “provided completely unreasonable tales of where that money was going.”
