A thief who impersonated a visiting priest stole from a church in Queens and has been connected to similar thefts at churches across the country, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in stolen funds, according to law enforcement sources.
The nationwide scheme of the prolific fake priest, Malin Rostas, came to light when he was arrested in California for attempting to steal from a church in Moreno Valley, posing as “Father Martin,” authorities revealed.
Rostas, 45, hailing from Queens, was extradited back to New York City from California to face charges for the robbery at a Bayside parish in March.
Rostas entered the American Martyrs RC Church on March 3, pretending to be a visiting priest looking to officiate a Mass with the resident clergy, including Father Peter Rayder, 63, as reported by WNBC.
He deceived the senior priest, claiming he had left something in the rectory. Instead, he sneaked into Rayder’s bedroom and stole $900, according to Rayder.
“I saw him. I spoke to him. I said, ‘What’s going on?’ He said, ‘I’m here to concelebrate,'” Rayder told the network.
When asked for a letter from the bishop, the fake priest claimed it was in his car and left the premises, fleeing in a dark-colored sedan, heading south on Bell Boulevard, according to authorities.
In March, Rayder told WABC that the thief seemed well-informed, knew the clergy’s names, and used priestly vocabulary.
“He’s a vulture, he’s a vulture, gypsy, he knows what he’s doing,” Rayder remarked.
Sources indicate that he has stolen tens of thousands of dollars from churches in New York. He also tried to burglarize St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Brooklyn and the Sisters of Saint Dominic in Amityville, Suffolk County, but left empty-handed, according to the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.
Rostas was arrested in Southern California for the attempted church burglary on April 10, along with an outstanding warrant for a 2022 burglary in Pennsylvania, as stated by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
In October, the impostor posing as “Father Martin” allegedly stole $500 from the rectory of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Houston, Texas, and attempted similar thefts at Dallas parishes, as reported by the Catholic News Agency.
He is also believed to have stolen $1,770 from a parish in Oregon and may be responsible for additional thefts in Ontario, Canada, according to The New York Times.
Rostas is awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on charges of second-degree burglary and petit larceny, with a potential delay in appearing before a judge due to the worldwide Microsoft outage.
Diocese of Brooklyn spokesman John Quaglione expressed hope that the arrest would halt Rostas’ series of crimes against churches.
“The Diocese of Brooklyn commends the New York City Police Department for their diligence in this case,” Quaglione stated. “It was the NYPD that issued a national alert on this suspect after his robbery at American Martyrs, which led to his initial arrest in California. This impostor priest will now face burglary charges in New York, and we hope this is the end of his preying on churches.”
— Additional reporting by Kyle Schnitzer and Khristina Narizhnaya
