Tale of Beauty and the Priest

[~Sassy~]

Tale of Beauty and the Priest ~ 'Stole' 85G for nip/tuck



Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the cutest clergyman of all?

A 66-year-old Staten Island pastor trying desperately to turn back the clock ripped off nearly $85,000 from his congregation to pay for plastic surgery, Botox shots and fancy clothes, authorities said yesterday.

The Rev. William Blasingame, 66, a fixture at the historic St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church for more than 30 years, began breaking the Eighth Commandment in January 2005 and continued to steal for another three years, according to the Staten Island district attorney.

The unwed Blasingame's miraculous makeovers apparently impressed some of the older members of his congregation.

"He is a favorite of the elderly and 65-plus crowd," a law-enforcement source said. "He was a real schmoozer."

But the same source noted, without going into detail, that some people who crossed his path had been "creeped out."

The landmark church at 225 St. Pauls Ave. in Stapleton is renowned for its Victorian Gothic architecture -- and parishioners set up the Friends of St. Paul's foundation to fund the maintenance, upkeep and beautification of its grounds.

But Blasingame was using the money to fund his own beautification and upkeep, officials said.

The pastor allegedly was stealing from an emergency fund set up to help church members in need, as well.

Officials said that in addition to clothes and surgery, Blasingame used some of the stolen money to pay off his car insurance.

Motor-vehicle records show the registration on his 1987 Volvo was suspended twice, in 2003 and in 2006, for insurance lapses.

Blasingame is listed as a scofflaw with the New York City Parking Violations Bureau with a case that is still listed as "active."

Sources said he also used the ill-gotten gains to pay for memberships to unspecified clubs.

Blasingame spent much of yesterday holed up in his Vanderbilt Avenue home, declining to speak to reporters who knocked on his door.

He apparently spent little or none of the stolen money to make improvements on anything but his face and wardrobe.

His rundown house sports a weed-strewn yard. Collapsed shutters decorate the windows.

His 22-year-old car was parked on the street yesterday with an old poster from the church and a Bible in the back seat.

Blasingame, who resigned from the church earlier this year, was charged with second-degree grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.

He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

His lawyer, James Hasson, said Blasingame still has some support in the church.

"His friends seem to be very upset," Hasson said. "They really feel he's being put upon."

The priest was collared by the Staten Island DA's detective squad after suspicious church members began double-checking parish finances.

Blasingame was arraigned in criminal court Friday and was released without bail.