By: Benyamin Davidsons

In 2014, Edward Arsenault was a high-ranking New Hampshire Preist who pled guilty to stealing roughly $300,000 from a Catholic hospital, his diocese and a deceased priest’s estate.

As reported by the NY Post, now this man is named Edward Bolognini and heads two nonprofit organizations in New York City, with lucrative city contracts.  Bolognini had been a well-known figure in New Hampshire as the Manchester diocese spokesman in the early 2000s. After his sins, and pleading guilty in court, he served four years in prison, spending some of that time in home confinement.  He was released in 2018. Pope Francis had booted him from priesthood in 2017.

As per the Post, in June of 2018, he entered the world of nonprofits.  As per his online resume, he joined The Federation of the Handicapped and Disabled.  Also known as the FedCap Group, the giant nonprofit founded in 1935 and based in midtown Manhattan, specializes in health care and job training among other things. Bolognini became interim VP in human resources for FedCap, and became executive director of ReServe Elder Service and Wildcat Services Corp– two nonprofits under The FedCap umbrella.

ReServe helps older adults find work in city agencies and other places. That group was given a $10 million contract with the city to promote the COVID-19 vaccine and distribute test kits and masks, as per the company website.  Wildcat specializes in helping former inmates get jobs. Together, the two groups have raked in roughly $20 million in NYC tax payer dollars over the past five years, as per the comptroller’s office.  Bolognini was paid $156,000 by the nonprofits in 2020, which is the latest available tax filing.  FedCap’s website includes a bio for Bolognini, in which it says, “Ed is among an estimated 70 million Americans who have been involved in the criminal justice system.” It does not mention that he was a disgraced priest who did time for theft.

Arsenault’s crimes included writing checks from a dead priest’s estate to himself; billing a hospital for consulting work he never did; and spending the money on travel and lavish restaurants for himself and a male partner, as per the Associated Press. “It’s criminal behavior. It’s disturbing behavior,” then-New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Jane Young had said following the priest’s sentencing in 2014. “These are thefts from a charitable institution by someone very high up.”

One watchdog group said Bolognini’s role at FedCap should raise eyebrows and make donors to the group think twice.  “It’s certainly reasonable to be concerned as a donor if you’re considering donating to a nonprofit that has hired someone with a criminal background,” said Kevin Scally of Charity Navigator.

Susan Walsh, a spokeswoman for FedCap, commented telling the Post that Bolognini had notified the company about his criminal conviction before being hired. She explained that his name change is from 2020, when he married his husband.  She added that the nonprofits are all about “second chances.” “Wildcat serves people who, like Ed, were previously incarcerated and paid their debt to society, giving them another chance at a successful future.  We do not discriminate based on someone’s sexual orientation or personal background and Ed and his entire team embody our deep commitment to service, personal renewal, and a brighter future for all people,” Walsh said.