Police Called After Meeting At UES Church Turns Into Shouting Match
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police were called to the lobby of an Upper East Side Church on Sunday afternoon, after a meeting over control of the parish became heated.
Pastor Daniel Iampaglia, 72, called the meeting at the Evangelical Rock Church on East 62nd Street to change the church's bylaws to give him more control, sources said.
Iampaglia was arrested last week for allegedly trying to steal church donations. Churchgoers said they caught Iampaglia red-handed, after hidden camera footage showed a man taking money out of a drawer, counting it, and then pocketing some of the money, CBS2 reported.
Police eventually charged Iampaglia with petit larceny for the theft of $238.
Iampaglia and several church members have been in a bitter, ongoing legal dispute. Those members still come to worship every Sunday, but they skip his morning service. They have their own meeting every Sunday afternoon without him.
On Sunday, a church elder was pushed to the floor, as one faction tried to gain entry to the sanctuary where Iampaglia was delivering service, CBS2's Steve Langford reported.
Once inside, it became a battle of the microphones, as the pastor and his opponents tried to shout each other down, with members of the congregation watching.
Around eight police officers were called to the scene, but no arrests were made, police said.
Sue Cruz, who is a member of the church's board, told 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria that Iampaglia had no right to call Sunday's meeting.
"This church, the building is very valuable -- there's no debt, the church has money, so they're trying to take control," Cruz said.
Cruz, along with other parishioners, said they want the pastor fired.
"When people are asked to be prayed for, he declined to pray for," one worshipper said. "And, when one of the attendees passed away, at the funeral, he refused to go and pray for the family and comfort."
"I think he should resign," another man told Langford.
An attorney representing Iampaglia said his client would not comment on the petit larceny charge, nor would he resign, CBS2 reported.
Iampaglia is supposed to be in court on the petit larceny charge on Tuesday.