Haitian Priest and Diocesan Accountant Arrested for Arms Trafficking
The Revd Canon George Conger, a rector in the Diocese of Central Florida and long-time Anglican journalist, reports on a heretofore unknown scandal within The Episcopal Church. The Diocese of Haiti is a member of The Episcopal Church rather than the Church of the Province in the West Indies.
Conger reports:
“A priest and a diocesan accountant have been arrested by police in Port-au-Prince in connection with the seizure of a shipping container packed with guns and ammunition smuggled into Haiti under the name of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti.
“The Dominican Republic newspaper Listen Diario reported on 26 August 2022 the Rev. Frantz Cole had been arrested and a second priest the Rev. Jean Mardochée Vil was helping the police with their inquiries following the seizure of arms and ammunition labelled as ‘relief supplies’ on 15 July 2022 at the port of La Saline.
“The Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste on Tuesday reported the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti’s accountant, Jean Gilles Jean Mary, had been taken into custody by agents of the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ).
“His arrest occurred after he signed, between 2017 and 2021, several documents authorising the disbursement of funds from the Episcopal Church account to the account of an international arms trafficker, wanted by the DCPJ”, the newspaper reported.
“The Diocese of Haiti’s Standing Committee released a statement last week saying it had been cooperating fully with authorities.”
