2 Are Arrested In Church Robbery
BY LIZ GOFF

A pair of Brooklyn men last week were charged in the brazen Christmas Day theft of $30,000 from a Flushing church.

Police said Daniel Almodovar, 24, and Daniel Morales, 26, walked into a rear door at St. Mel’s Catholic Church during the 9 a.m. Christmas mass, where they stole a strongbox filled with $6,000 in cash and almost $24,000 in checks–donations made by parishioners during services. A portion of the money was earmarked as a donation to Catholic Charities, to be used for underprivileged children, the Rev. Christopher Turczany, St. Mel’s pastor, said.

Police sources said Almodovar, 24, walked into the 109th Precinct in Flushing on December 27, accompanied by his attorney. He was questioned for several hours prior to his arrest on burglary charges.

Cops said the attorney handed over the $6,000 to police and advised them that the remainder of the missing donations were in the form of checks, which can be replaced by parishioners.

Morales was arrested on December 26 after police traced a Lincoln Navigator used in the robbery to him, authorities said.

A witness who copied the license plate number of the Lincoln identified both men in separate lineups conducted by cops at the Flushing station house, the sources said.

Morales was released on $25,000 bail after his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on December 27, where he was charged with burglary and robbery. Morales, who tried to cover his face with his jacket as he walked from the courthouse surrounded by relatives, refused to speak with reporters as he made his way down Queens Boulevard.

Morales’ attorney, Stuart Tarshis, told reporters “They got the wrong guy. [Morales] did not commit this crime.”

Tarshis said his client “maintains his innocence” and emphasized that Morales has no criminal record.

Prosecutors said Richard Chitos, an usher at the St. Mel’s Christmas mass, identified Morales as the man who carried the lockbox from the church basement to the Lincoln.

Court records state, “When he (Chitos) confronted the defendant, the defendant claimed he was at the church to fix the elevator. (Chitos) then observed (Morales) load the lockbox into the Lincoln Navigator and drive away.”

Cops said Chitos managed to copy the Lincoln’s Vermont license plate number, which he later handed over to detectives.

Turczany told parishioners at a New Year’s Day mass that St. Mel’s is installing five security cameras in the church and a lock on the sacristy, the room where the cash was stored in an unlocked safe.

Turczany also asked parishioners to “thank and pray for” detectives at the 109th Precinct who nabbed Almodovar and Morales.

Prior to the arrest of the two suspects, officials at Flushing Savings Bank donated $5,000 to the parish and Catholic Charities to cover the loss. A Flushing Savings spokesperson said the bank “considers St. Mel’s a neighbor”. The spokesperson said there are a number of Flushing Savings Bank branches in the area, and that the bank employs many people who are parishioners at St. Mel’s.

“It was simply the right thing to do,” the spokesperson said.