Father David Kossey-- St. Marys Orthodox Church, NYC

In the mere interest of decency, I think that all good men of the Church, ought purge religion of the toxic elements that have served to discredit the credibility of our Church(es) or undermined the sanctity of a spiritual life committed to higher purposes. The following litany of complaints against one such man of the cloth has just come across my desk, and should it be ignored my his superiors and his congregation (in one instance out of their shared corruption, and in the latter, I'm sure just apathy. The following is the content of a letter passed onto me by one of St. Mary's congregation demanding the ouster of this priest, which I publish for your review:
Fr John Good

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL:

Metropolitan Nicholas

Chancellor Miloro

American Carpatho-Russian Church

312 Garfield St

Johnstown, PA 15906

Tel: 814-539-9143

October, 2010

Dear Metropolitan Nicholas and Chancellor Miloro:

    Your Eminence: I am writing this letter anonymously, as a highly reluctant congregant and member of   St. Mary’s American Orthodox Church located at

121 E 7^th Street, New York, New York 10009

. I add that my membership is reluctant given the fact that I now have serious reservations about the integrity or righteousness of the church’s priest, one “Father” David Kossey. My mother has  lived in the East Village for some 30 years now and has long attended Sunday services at the Church, whereas by default, her church has become my own. I have recently come to understand of some troubling undercurrents at St. Mary’s that my mother has asked me to investigate, which I have.

    I write to you as a lawyer ( a trained litigator), a son, and a member of the faithful of the church, and my concerns are extreme. My mother recommended I write you to air my concerns about the church, as well as St. Mary’s possible exposures, in light of  Kossey’s untoward behavior, and questionable conduct over the years.

   I have met Kossey only once with my mother, outside of the context of Sunday mass, and have concluded that he is a very disturbed man who should by no means be allowed to enjoy the privilege of ministering to a church- any church!. According to an impeccable source (another priest in New York City- whose decency and integrity are unimpeachable), Kossey has been party to many questionable practices- questionable even in the opinion of other members of the your/our church. . I have been also told that you have been trying to oust him from your ranks for many years now in light of his many abuses and continued malfeasance. He has been rumored to be tied to apparent embezzlement, IRS tax fraud, and dubious sexual predilections (even his very disturbed  22 year old son [?] Matthew sleeps in Kossey’s own bedroom). Additionally, his son has apparently been in trouble in high school for, I was told, carrying weapons and explosives. He is also failing miserably at a third-rate community college, last I heard. Simply put, Kossey appears to be the most corrupt man wearing a collar I have ever met, excepting the likes of a Fr.Gagan, or the like.. As I said, he is certainly not deserving to serve as a spiritual advisor, as his holiness is more than suspect. Kossey is unabashedly and crudely materialistic, greedy, and has a pathological lust for wealth and money, and is clearly not fit to wear a collar of any denomination. Apparently one of his ex-friends has overtly asked him to quit the ‘church’ on numerous occasions, citing his un-fitness to represent any shade of a higher morality whatsoever. He does no pastoral work, participates in no soup kitchens or neighborhood outreach, does not help the sick or poor, and is only interested in exploiting the opportunities his affiliation with a ‘church’ might afford him-- among that, an unearned and unjustified  level of credibility, and the perquisites of the church-- parties, and expensive dinners ( that he funds through looting the ‘church’s’ offerings and poor boxes, for personal gain). I was even  told that some time ago, he was “genuinely  pleased” that one of the congregation (an elderly friend of my mother) had died, as he was asked by the widow and family to recommend a funeral home, which Kossey then proceeded to “shake-down” for a secret kick-back from the funeral director (for bringing him business), affording him the ability to wine and dine himself shamelessly and buy himself a new jacket. This man is sick!

This “man of peace” further has a lust for weapons and violent first-person-shooter video games, keeps his own black powder and an arsenal of illegal weapons in his church apt, has a frightening penchant for “kook right-wing politics.”.He is apparently devoid of compassion, completely amoral, and shares a fascination with violence and jingoistic politics. He loves to shoot and kill small and helpless animals in the name of game hunting. An MD/ PhD and psychiatrist (a Dr. Brandt) who met him at a cocktail party told me that Kossey was one of the most pathological subjects he had ever spoken to, and suggested that I and my mother report him to his superiors (which I do at this time) as well as find another church in which to worship. In light of these troubling reports, I have forbade my mother from making any offerings to the church, as I refuse to have my family bankroll this man’s lust for 3 star restaurants, expensive cars, and guns.

It is in this “culture of corruption” that he ( and I’m told his father and family) have lived all of their lives,  always flashing his collar to scam free dinners and favors, to get out of speeding tickets, and even recently to squirm out of a recent felony theft charge of someone’s weapons, (from which he weaseled  and extricated himself ) only because of his alleged ‘standing’, and affiliation to a ‘church’. An.Officer Harris of the 9^th Pct gave Kossey the benefit of the doubt believing that a man of the cloth would never lie due to his higher moral commitments. Kossey is an opportunist, a charlatan and a fraud, for whom this my priest-friend and I  have no respect whatsoever. In fact, he has been more of a standing joke amongst my and my mother’s friends who have referred to him as a “common whore”, as he is willing to do anything for an expensive meal or an  (exclusive) invite. Further his family life is tragic - abandoning an autistic (an inconvenient) daughter, and raising a pathologically psychotic son, whose mental illnesses are too numerous to recount. Not to mention a long-suffering wife who he exploits mercilessly, sending her to work, while he sleeps in, spends the day on leisure activities, shops, and seeks diversion, and lusts over lifes temptations. Given the example he sets, I can see why his family is so troubled.

I think I have vented enough here, even though I have exercised much discipline for some time, so as not to air such unpleasant and disparaging comments in such a public fashion. We have all been victimized by Kossey, and my past silence regarding my disgust with his practices, has not served us well. So here now is a full accounting for your consideration and review.   I think we all deserve better. Unemployment is 15% in NY, people are suffering, and Kossey (bafflingly employed by this church)  runs around the city seeking hedonistic pleasures in his own “Neverland”.

Further, I am told that the party (whose credibility I am told is unimpeachable- a PhD in philosophy) who filed the quashed criminal complaint, (who I  just called this morning and  refused to comment)  has told Kossey himself that should he not leave the church, he would sue Kossey personally as well as the Church! He only dignified my query by allowing me to speak to his counsel.

I am sorry to post this to you anonymously, but I am fearful of possible retaliation from a mentally ill man who has an arsenal of weapons in his church apartment, as does his mentally disturbed son. Unless you act forcefully now, I am certain that you, and the Church will also be sued, according to my source. Remember, as an attorney, I did speak lawyer-to-lawyer to the complainant’s counsel, who assured me his client is angry, well-funded and will not stop his lawsuit unless Kossey stands down and leaves the Church altogether. I think Kossey will not leave through any higher call of conscience or sense of righteousness, as he could never find a ‘racket’ like the one he currently enjoys in the work-a-day world of the private sector. Imagine a job in the private sector, where one works 1 hr. a week, gets a free NYC apartment and stipend, and is left to roam in the playground of NY, dining at 3 star restaurants and window-shopping daily with ill-gotten gains procured from the the poorbox.(  For the record, I work 70 hours a week for little pay). This Church needs to do some house-cleaning if you wish to enjoy any level of credibility or decency. What happened to the Church’s pastoral work, community outreach, or help to the indigent and needy? Unless something changes and there is some moral outrage, I will personally reach out to the congregation in the next few weeks and organize a formal protest to oust this man- unless you do it first! I will be certain to attend next Sunday’s mass with my mother and see if I sense that something is soon to change.

Most Sincerely,

A concerned congregant