‘Scam’ takes the cake
Audit eyes ‘crush’ rev.
A Greek Orthodox priest who enjoyed kinky “cake crush” romps with a parochial school principal may now be in hot holy water over hundreds of thousands of dollars in missing money and murky credit-card expenses.
A forensic audit of St. Spyridon Church in Washington Heights found financial irregularities, according to a preliminary draft of the audit obtained by The Post. The May 19 report labeled “for discussion purposes only” is not final.
Rental income from four church-owned apartment houses allegedly paid for $99,249 in credit-card bills racked up by the Rev. George Passias, but the auditors said they could find no documentation for what the money was spent on.
Passias, 68, was pastor of the church until he was forced to resign in September 2015 over his affair with Ethel Bouzalas, 47, a mar- ried parish school principal.
The Post received sex tapes that revealed the randy couple engaged in a fetish known as “cake crush” or “cake sitting.”
Bouzalas, who Passias also impregnated, could be seen in the videos sitting on a piece of banana bread as the cleric looked on lustily
Passias, also married, was later defrocked.
The preliminary report found the church’s rental income also funded $11,679 in Oxford Health Care costs for Bouzalas.
Bouzalas took $30,000 from the St. Spyridon school before she was forced to leave in 2015 — money she claimed was reimbursement for a loan. The draft audit says auditors found no evidence of such a loan.
St. Spyridon parishioners began complaining of financial funny business after Passias took over as priest in 2006. He brought in Bouzalas, a mother of three, as principal and the church’s treasurer.
The auditing firm retained by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America also said it could not account for $121,000 received in 2014 as rental payments for a church social hall and $5,000 that was donated to the church for an elevator repair project.
It also pointed out repair and maintenance work done by contractors without bid solicitation first.
Steve Papadatos, former head of the parish council, said bids were obtained for work at the buildings and that the church used the rental income to pay for transportation and phone costs for Passias. He disputed that they amounted to $100,000.
Bishop Andonios Paropoulos, the chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States, said he couldn’t comment on the audit because it was a draft.
Passias and Bouzalas could not be reached for comment.