Ex-councilman named in child sex abuse suit
Former New York City Councilman Louis Gigante. Photo courtesy www.sebcodevelopment.org
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
Louis Gigante, a former
priest turned New York City
councilman who is credited for
rebuilding the Hunts Point section
of the Bronx in the 1980s,
is being accused of sexually
abusing a minor while at St.
Athanasius Church in Longwood,
according to recent
court fi lings.
According to documents
fi led with the Bronx County
clerk on May 25, an unnamed
“John Doe” alleges that Gigante
sexually assaulted him
from 1976-1977 when he was a
nine-year-old attending Gigante’s
bible study at St. Athanasius
Church.
The man, estimated to be 50
years old, alleges that during
that time Gigante forced him
to perform oral sex during bible
study sessions.
“The Archdiocese knew or
should have known that Father
Gigante was sexually abusing
children and/or had the propensity
to do so,” the claim
reads. “The defendants Roman
Catholic Archdiocese of
New York, and St. Athanasius
Roman Catholic Church knew
or should have known of the
abuse that Mr. Doe and other
young children were suffering
at the hands of their clergy.”
St. Athanasius Church offi
cials declined to comment on
“a pending legal matter” and
attempts by the Bronx Times
to reach Gigante for comment
about the allegations were unsuccessful.
Gigante’s brother was Vincent
“Chin” Gigante, former
head of the Genovese crime
family.
Gigante is one of 177 names
recently unveiled in a wave of
lawsuits against parishioners
and offi cials connected to the
Archdiocese of New York via
the state’s 2019 Child Victims
Act, which granted a one-year
window for child sexual abuse
survivors to fi le court cases
that had already been timebarred
or expired.
Having already been extended
twice, the act’s latest
timeline extension expires on
Aug. 14.
In the most recent legislative
session, state lawmakers
had discussed the Adult Survivors
Act, which creates a similar
look-back window similar
to the Child Victims Act, but
for those who were sexually
abused as adults and are timebarred
from fi ling civil suits.
In a statement to the Bronx
Times on Wednesday, NYCbased
BRONX TIMES R 10 EPORTER, AUG. 6-12, 2021 BTR
law fi rm Curis Law, who
is representing the unnamed
plaintiff, is hoping future legislation
can continue to remove
the statute of limitations
for survivors of child sexual
abuse.
“We commend all child sexual
abuse survivors coming
forward and seeking justice,”
the statement reads. “It is unfortunate
that the August 14,
2021 deadline will soon come
to an end and look to New York
State to implement new legislation
to remove time restrictions
as the trauma and suffering
for these survivors is
everlasting.”
Gigante was the parish
priest of U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Sonia Sotomayor when
she was a teenager, which is
documented in her memoir
“My Beloved World.”
Gigante is more widely
known, however, for his work
in economic and community
development in the South
Bronx and his involvement in
NYC politics.
Gigante founded the Southeast
Bronx Community Organization
(SEBCO) and
Simpson Street Development
Association in 1968 and 1969,
respectively. In 1971, Gigante,
while still a priest, founded
the Bruckner Democratic Club
and then was a two-term Bronx
city councilman after being
elected in 1973.
He unsuccessfully ran for
Congress in 1980, however Gigante’s
fi ngerprints are all
over the Hunts Points section
of the Bronx.
In the ’80s, the non-profi t
housing group SEBCO developed
al most 2,000 new or renovated
housing units for lowincome
families in the Hunts
Points area, which was considered
downtrodden by national
pundits and media.
However, a four-month investigation
by The Village
Voice in 2007 revealed that Gigante
and his publicly fi nanced
South Bronx developments
were $50 million investments
that benefi tted companies
owned by or affi liated with topranking
members of the Genovese
organized crime family.
Between 1978 and 2004,
SEBCO registered 18 businesses,
including six nonprofi t
organizations and 12 for-profi t
companies. Gigante is listed
as CEO of fi ve of the corporations
and a chairperson of the
majority of the nonprofi t organizations.
In July 2017, Gigante was
honored for “rebuilding major
stretches of the South Bronx”
by elected offi cials at a Family
Day celebration in front of
his former church at St. Athanasius.
The law fi rm Jeff Anderson
& Associates, a fi rm advocating
for survivors of sexual
abuse, says more than 1,700 alleged
perpetrators are tied to
the Catholic Diocese in New
York.
Approximately 962 lawsuits
have already been fi led under
the state’s Child Victims Act
involving the Archdiocese of
New York.
“Many times when a survivor
comes forward with allegations
against an alleged perpetrator,
more survivors are
often out there and may come
forward,” said a representative
from Anderson & Associates
PA, a fi rm advocating for survivors
of sexual abuse. “Unfortunately,
so many survivors feel
alone and when they see another
survivor from the same
location of abuse, or abused by
the same alleged perpetrator,
it can inspire those survivors
to come forward and seek legal
justice.”
/www.sebcodevelopment.org
/www.sebcodevelopment.org