Former Monroe priest accused of inappropriate behavior with minor

Same priest pleaded guilty to stealing $25,600 from Garnerville church in 2011

Published Oct 11, 2018 at 7:14 pm (Updated Jan 5, 2019)

Photos

Photo credit: bsatroop174.tripod.com The Rev. Thomas Kreiser

BY ERIKA NORTON

MONROE — The Rev. Thomas Kreiser, a priest in Bronxville who served at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Monroe for several years, is accused of inappropriate behavior with a minor.

According to the Archdiocese of New York, the case was immediately referred to the Westchester District Attorney, which is conducting the investigation.

“While the matter is being reviewed, Father Krieser has stepped away from the parish and will not publicly be exercising his ministry,” said Archdiocese spokesperson Joseph Zwilling.

Kreiser was serving at the Church of St. Joseph in Bronxville and had only been there for three months.

Since being ordained in 1994, he served in several other churches, including the Church of the Sacred Heart in Monroe, from 1994 to 1998 and then again in 2017 when he served the parish as parochial vicar, according to online bulletins.

According to published reports, in 2011, Kreiser pleaded guilty to stealing $25,600 from St. Gregory Barbarigo Church in Rockland County and was sentenced to five years’ probation.

He spent 14 months in a Pennsylvania rehabilitation clinic for internet gambling addiction before joining the Church of St. Joseph last July.

Kreiser also served at St. Columba in Hopewell Junction and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scarsdale, as well as St. Gregory Barbarigo in Garnerville.