Feb. 03--He called himself "Padre," and wore the white collar of a Roman Catholic priest. He officiated at Masses, confessions, funerals, baptisms and at least one marriage, court papers say.
But Los Angeles police say in court papers that Erwin Mena was a con man who allegedly used his clerical facade to swindle churchgoers out of several thousands of dollars. Mena allegedly posed as a priest since the mid-1990s, according to court papers.
On Tuesday, officers arrested Mena, 59, in Elysian Park on suspicion of grand theft and committing perjury after investigators unraveled his scheme to sell bogus trips to see Pope Francis last year in Philadelphia, said LAPD Det. Gary Guevara.
Prosecutors have charged Mena with 22 felonies and 8 misdemeanors, including two felonies in connection with filing a false marriage license and one felony count of practicing medicine without a license, according to the criminal complaint filed by the L.A. County district attorney's office.
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When asked to comment while being escorted from LAPD headquarters by Dets. Dimitri Kort and Juan Martinez, who also investigated the case, Mena said, "Not at this time."
Mena, who also used the surname Menacastro, began posing as a priest at St. Ignatius of Loyola parish in Northeast L.A. for about five months beginning in January 2015, according to an affidavit filed in L.A. County Superior Court.
To parishioners and their friends, he began peddling tickets to a pilgrimage to New York and Philadelphia that coincided with the pope's visit in September, according to the affidavit.
The trip included airfare and lodging in convents run by the Sisters of St. Francis and the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, according to court papers.
More than two dozen people signed up for the trip, handing over between $500 and $1,000 each to pay for the chance to see the pope, police said.
In early June, the pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Fr. Edwin Duyshart, reported the alleged theft to the LAPD.
