Charge dismissed against Pastor Moales for bad check to Testo’s
BRIDGEPORT – Criminal charges against Rev. Kenneth Moales Jr. were dismissed Tuesday.
Superior Court Judge Peter McShane granted a motion by Moales’ lawyer, Dennis Bradley, to dismiss the charge of issuing a bad check over $2,000 to Testo’s Restaurant.
Bradley presented a letter to the judge from Moales’ bank detailing how Moales’ account there had been victimized by a fraud and also a letter from Testo’s that they had been recompensed.
“This is a great outcome for a simple mistake,” Bradley said later.
According to the warrant affidavit, on July 22, Moales wrote a check to Testo’s for $2,821.40 to cover expenses for catering services. The check was subsequently returned for insufficient funds. The affidavit states that Moales, a former Board of Education member, was not required to show identification when he wrote the
check because he is “personally known to the recipient.”
The restaurant is owned by Mario Testa, chairman of the city’s Democratic Town Committee.
Last month, Moales failed to show up in court for a hearing on the bad check. At the time, the judge ordered a bail commissioner’s letter be issued, warning Moales to appear in court this month or face rearrest.
Moales, the pastor of the
Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, is embroiled in a $15 million federal foreclosure case for his Union Avenue church and four other properties in the city. He is currently awaiting an appeal of the eviction from the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
In the meantime, he has filed documents in federal court stating he is willing to buy back his churches and other property for $6 million.