MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The former finance director of a Catholic church in Middletown admitted he stole from the church, according to New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport.
Joseph Manzi, 78, who lives in Middletown, pleaded guilty May 15 to one count of second-degree theft from the Church of Saint Leo the Great, located in the Lincroft section of Middletown.
Also Friday, Manzi pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree filing a fraudulent tax return.
In exchange for his guilty plea, the state is recommending he serve five years in a New Jersey state prison. He also has to pay $1.2 million in restitution back to St. Leo's, and pay $73,032 in unpaid taxes to the New Jersey state Treasury.
Manzi worked at the church as their director of finance, operations and development until the church fired him last June. It was the parish bookkeeper who was reviewing St. Leo's credit card statements and first noticed an unusual charge connected to Manzi's personal Cadillac SUV, the church said in a lawsuit it filed against Manzi last year.
St. Leo's said after that suspicious charge, it then opened its books and uncovered dozens of unauthorized charges made to the St. Leo's two credit cards, an American Express and Capital One business credit cards.
As the church's finance director, Manzi had full use of those two credit cards. State prosecutors say he used the church's credit cards to make purchase for himself, including:
Church staff said Manzi had sole control of the church’s credit cards, which carried his name. Charges for the cards were paid directly out of St. Leo’s operating account.
A preliminary investigation determined he had embezzled $673,874, and further investigation identified additional stolen church money, said Davenport.
“(Manzi) admitted in court that he used his position of trust to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the church,” Davenport said Friday. “He did so to fund a lavish lifestyle, and he is now facing the consequences of his greed.”
The allegations against Manzi first came to light in August 2025, when the Church of St. Leo the Great sued Manzi, alleging he stole $1.6 million of the church's operating funds over the past six years. However, the theft may have gone on for longer than that, says the church. You can read a copy of the church's 2025 lawsuit against him here
"Manzi treated the St. Leo’s operating account as his personal piggy bank," the church said in its lawsuit last year.
The church said Manzi destroyed the card's monthly statements, to hide the charges he put on there.
After the church sued him in civil court, the New Jersey Attorney General then opened its own criminal investigation, done by Division of Criminal Justice detective Troy Wilhelm and Special Investigator Paul Donahue.
Less than three months after the church first sued Manzi, in October 2025 the state of New Jersey criminally charged him with second-degree theft by unlawful taking.
The state's case against Manzi was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Conner Ouellette under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Aaron Witherspoon and Bureau Chief Cynthia Vazquez.
When St. Leo the Great first sued Manzi, alleging he stole from the church: St. Leo The Great Says Former Finance Director Stole $1.6 Million From Church (August 2025)
When the state of New Jersey filed criminal charges against Manzi: Former St. Leo The Great Finance Director Now Criminally Charged With Theft (October 2025)
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