Faith, something sacred for many, for others is only a key to carry out different crimes taking advantage of the devotion of others, as did a 45-year-old man identified as Malin Rostaswho used his false identity of “Father Martin” to rob churches, leaving victims all over the United States.
Several victims had denounced the man, who by the way did an impeccable job, so no one suspected him, He learned the names of the parishioners and priests and used perfect ecclesiastical language.thus he infiltrated several temples, which he desecrated with his crimes.
According to the Los Angeles Times, for months the man wore black clothing and showed up at Catholic churches across the United States and Canada claiming to be “a visiting priest from Chicago,” allowing church fathers to open the doors for him.
Their reign of terror and robbery came to an end in California’s Riverside Countywhen some agents responded to a report about a vehicle in which an alleged thief was traveling, so they verified the identity of the driver and confirmed that he was the man wanted in several states.
Officers arrested Rostas – originally from New York – on an outstanding felony warrant for robbery in Pennsylvania. Investigators discovered that he had attempted to rob a local church prior to his arrest.
Modus operandi
After chatting with the host priests, “Father Martín” he gained their trust and waited for a crucial moment to attack: when they left him alone in the rectory. Once that happened, Rostas took the valuables and quickly fled with what was stolen.
Father Peter Raydar of the American Martyrs Roman Catholic Church in Queens, New York, said Rostas stole $900 from him in March. “He is a vulture, he is a vulture. “It is very sad that someone goes to any place of worship and rapes everyone,” said the person affected.
Rostas is accused of carrying out another robbery at a Houston church, where he took $500. Authorities also suspect he stole more than $1,700 from a church in Oregon.
Other thieving priests
This is not the only case of people using other people’s faith to steal; in October, the Diocese of Stockton issued a warning about two men who stole the identities of real priests in Toluca, State of Mexico, to charge parishioners, mostly immigrants, exorbitant fees for performing impromptu ritualssuch as baptisms, confirmations and first communions, among others.
Some fake priests are more “techy,” like in Miami, where church officials warned delinquent worshipers who perform fake rituals in exchange for preloaded iTunes gift cards. Parishioner scammed out of $1,500.
Another case that was very famous occurred in Sacramento, where the owners of a taqueria hired a false priest to confess to their employees, who noticed something strange when the impostor guided the questions to obtain information about their work, as if they had been missing, stolen or done something against their employers.
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