A visitor sent me a
link to the story of yet another Anglican "bishop", Martin Sigillito, who passed himself off as "Presiding Bishop" of the "American Anglican Convocation". This is not the same as the more reputable Convocation of Anglicans in North America, and it does not appear on the
list of churches "not in communion" with the See of Canterbury on the Anglicans Online web site.
In 2012,
A federal jury returned a guilty verdict for Sigillito on April 13 on 20 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy and money laundering in his trial for a massive real estate Ponzi scheme that swindled investors out of more than $56 million.
Sigillito's story was recently covered in an
episode of CNBC's
American Greed. As far as I can tell from the various news sources, although Sigillito had a wealthy lifestyle, he presided only over a single mission parish with Sunday services at Ambruster-Donnelly Mortuary in Richmond Heights, Missouri. He apparently used this parish as one place to identify and recruit his marks. I am unable to determine where he attended seminary, what bishop ordained him in which denomination, or other details of his clerical career. A person interviewed in the link above said,
"He puts himself out there as this sort of trustworthy bishop figure," says Sebastian Rucci, the Ohio lawyer behind one of the civil suits. "I wouldn't trust a thing that guy says, even if his tongue were notarized."
Frankly, if I had anything to do with the ACA, I'd be asking many, many questions about the Rt Rev Owen Rhys Williams -- and for that matter, I'd be running real fast in the opposite direction from anyone claiming to be a "continuing" Anglican bishop. The fact is that the very nature of the "continuum" -- scores of tiny splinter denominations, "bishops" and "priests" with nonexistent qualifications, tiny parishes meeting in funeral homes -- makes it prime territory for con artists. Which, of course, is another way of saying it's a target-rich environment for the Enemy.
