San Diego Chaldean bishop accused of brothel visits and embezzling church funds

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Fraud Unit is actively investigating a high-ranking member of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle of San Diego. A spokesperson for the department confirmed Monday they are looking at allegations of “financial mishandling”.

That investigation comes after a published article in The Pillar, which is comprised of a team of Catholic journalists who uncover church issues.

The Pillar article states that documents show 60-year-old Bishop Emanuel Shaleta may have misappropriated funds that came in the form of rental payments for a property owned by the church. According to The Pillar, he then repaid that money with funds reserved for charity. More than $427,000 is missing, but the article states the number could be as high as $1 million.

The Pillar’s reporting also shows Shaleta was a regular at a Tijuana brothel called The Hong Kong Billionaire’s Club. A private investigator’s report obtained by The Pillar shows the investigator followed the Bishop and witnessed his comings-and-goings.

The investigator also reported that Shaleta frequents the home of a woman with whom he shares a bank account. The two met when they both worked for the church in Michigan, then stayed in contact when Shaleta was transferred to Toronto. When Shaleta was transferred to San Diego, the woman and her children followed him.  According to The Pillar, the investigator’s report shows Shaleta had unfettered access to the woman’s home, using a security keypad to enter. The woman was also witnessed using keys to enter Shaleta’s home. They were together for long periods of time, according to the investigator’s report obtained by The Pillar.

The investigator’s report adds that Shaleta was often seen alone with the woman’s children, treating them as one would their own children.

NBC 7 contacted the San Diego-based private investigator. He declined to elaborate on his work.

A priest at the church spoke briefly to NBC 7 after seeing our camera outside St. Peter’s church. He acknowledged that parishioners know of the report because it’s been posted on several online platforms, but said he couldn’t comment on the investigation itself or on how parishioners were handling the troubling news.

The Pillar reported that Shaleta sent a resignation letter to The Vatican last month, but Shaleta was still in the pulpit for Sunday’s mass, according to a video posted on YouTube.

NBC 7 reached out to the Vatican to find out more about Shaleta’s status, but we did not get a response before publication.

We sent an email and asked the priest at St. Peter’s to ask Shaleta if he would be willing to talk to us about the allegations against him. He did not respond before publication.