Wall Street banker turned priest evicts community groups, including food pantry after three decades, jacks up rent for Alcoholics Anonymous 900%, and cancels children’s Christmas party in posh NYC neighborhood

A New York City priest has ripped off community groups, closed a food bank and raised the rent for AA meetings at his Brooklyn church.

In a note to volunteers at the food bank at St. Augustine’s Church in Park Slope, Brooklyn, Father Frank Tumino said their last day would be March 16.

Father Tumino told the Helping Hands Food Pantry that the decision came with a “heavy heart” and “after much prayerful reflection,” according to The city.

The newspaper reported that Tumino said volunteers had not completed child protection training and that the church lacked resources.

Still, volunteers told the city they went through the training and the costs of running the pantry are minimal thanks to grants and donations.

Tumino said volunteers had not completed child protection training, and the church, seen here, had a lack of resources

Helping Hands volunteer Tom Wargo said: “The church pays nothing, except for the electricity we use.

‘We open ourselves up. We close ourselves off. We clean everything ourselves. It’s all volunteer work. He just wants us gone.”

Parishioners described the closure as the latest incident since Tumino took over the parish in late 2021.

They say he canceled an annual Christmas party for the children of incarcerated parents that the church had organized for a decade.

Tumino also allegedly increased the rent for a biweekly Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, from $80 to $800 per month.

In addition, Tumino canceled a monthly dinner for people with AIDS and their families, according to parishioners.

Ellen Edelman told the outlet, “Every show has been pulled.” She recalled being told “we just don’t want you, period, we are not a parish program.”

Mychal McNicholas supported the AA meetings that took place at the church and decided to leave after the sudden price increase.

He said, ‘We just left. The pastor wears a white collar that says feed the hungry, care for the sick and the lame, and he throws us out onto the streets.”

Parishioners described the closure as the latest incident since Tumino took over the parish in late 2021

Tumino also allegedly raised the rent at a biweekly Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, from $80 to $800 per month.

Father Tumino had previously worked at the Bank of Japan before joining Chase Bank as a collateral analyst, according to an interview with The tablet.

After working at the company’s Penn Station branch, he left and took a private banking assignment.

He enrolled in the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington in 1992 and was ordained in 1998

In 2022, Tumino spoke candidly about the church’s financial struggles after their $2 million gold tabernacle was stolen in 2022.

The New York Times reported that Tumino said, “Understand, these parishes have been decimated.

“These parishes need between $10 and $15 million in work. That has been entrusted to me, and the money is not there, so you have to choose what you can choose and do now.’

John Quaglione, deputy press secretary for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, said CBS: ‘Father Tamino, the pastor, he didn’t want this to stop. It is an important ministry.

“We cannot, as a church, as a parish, take the risk of allowing people in need to come and be helped by people for whom we do not know their full story, background checks and proper training.”

In a statement, the church said: “Unfortunately, there have been some programs that have not met parish, statutory and diocesan requirements.

“As such, the safety of all parishioners and the financial integrity of the parish cannot be compromised.”