Priest and lover tried for embezzlement of 800 thousand euros to orphans

Over the years, the priest in charge of six private social solidarity institutions (IPSS) in the districts of Odivelas and Loures, as well as in Sao Tome and Principe, has donated almost 800,000 euros to support those most in need. The elderly and orphans were left with nothing, employees were laid off, and support services for the most needy were closed so that Father Arsenio Isidoro and his beloved Ana Cristina Gabriel could live in luxury. Travel, a €167,000 Porsche Panamera, a boat, a villa in Peniche, seafood and an endless list of expenses paid for with money that should have been intended to support the poorest sections of the population are now the basis of the charge of the State Ministry (MP). Both defendants are responsible for breach of trust and money laundering.

According to a document from the Department of Investigations and Criminal Affairs (DIAP) in Lisbon, Father Arsenio began in 2007 as president of several IPSS in the outskirts of Lisbon, and in all of them he appointed Ana Cristina Gabriel with the functions of treasurer or administrator, which allowed him to fully control bank accounts . The scheme lasted until 2016, when Arsenio’s father was detained by the judicial police.

According to the deputy, the entrance fee for the Porsche Panamera worth ten thousand euros was paid by check of the Instituto de Beneficência Maria da Conceição Ferreira Pimentel (Saosinha). The contributions, nearly a thousand euros each, were paid by another IPSS run by a priest. A luxury car worth €167,000 was sold for €50,000 in 2014. This vehicle was even used by the two defendants when they were selecting a piece of land in the Peniche area that they ended up buying and building on. house with a swimming pool, all due to the same IPSS. But even a boat appears on the list of unconfirmed expenses, which was eventually “exported” to Sao Tome and Principe, where the defendants spent their holidays once a year.

And

institutions used
Among the institutions affected by Father Arsenio and Ana Cristina Gabriel are the Casa do Gaiato in Lisbon, the Maria da Conceição Ferrão Pimentel Charitable Institute, the Ramada Community and Parish Center, the Ramada Parish Church Factory, the Protective Association Florinha da Rua and the NGO Ligar à Vida.

“Porsche Friends”
“I have never transferred money. And if there was any failure or disorder in the management of Casa do Gaiato, it was unintentional,” Father Arsenio Isidoro assured in March 2016 after his arrest and release. “I drove many Porsches, but they were not mine. I have friends who have Porsches and they let me drive them,” he justified at the time.

removed from functions
After becoming arguido in 2016, Arsenio’s father retired from all functions. At present, he does not exercise any pastoral functions.