What news outlets say about Msgr. Alan Placa, Rudy Giuliani's pal

According to a 2003 Suffolk County NY grand jury report:

Fr. Alan Placa is accused of sexually abusing children and helping “cover up the sexual abuse of children by other priests.” He “was part of a three-person team that handled allegations of abuse by clergy for the Diocese of Rockville Centre” that “resulted in the prevention, hindrance and delay in the discovery of criminal conduct by priests."

According to Newsday:

Routinely, the report said, Placa dragged out cases to make legal redress difficult. Victims were often 'ignored, belittled and revictimized. In some cases, the grand jury finds that the diocese procrastinated for the sole purpose of making sure that the civil and criminal statutes of limitation were no longer applicable.' In one case … Placa reportedly told a nun who had brought together victims and their families that the meeting was a waste of time because the statute of limitations had expired.

According to the New York Times (February 1, 2003):

In April 2002, Bishop William F. Murphy of the Diocese of Rockville Centre removed Monsignor Placa from a diocesan panel investigating clerical sexual abuse, replacing him and the two other members in an effort to respond to the abuse crisis. Several families had accused Monsignor Placa of conflict of interest because, they said, he had used his role as a spiritual adviser to gain information from victims to strengthen the diocese's legal position. He also stepped down as vice chancellor of the diocese.

According to Newsday (February 1, 2003):

Less than a year after he was stripped of his right to function as a priest, Msgr. Alan Placa is working as a consultant at (Giuliani Partners). Placa. . .was stripped of his right to function as a priest last year following allegations that he molested two high school students.

According to Salon.com:

Placa would later tell a reporter that he did not report allegations of abuse to law enforcement He also wrote in one memo "Please do not identify me as an attorney [to complainants.]"

According to the National Catholic Reporter:

The report documents allegations of the rape of cheerleaders and altar boys, of acts of molestation and seductions in churches, rectories, on camping trips, and in the homes of the minors who were abused. It tells of instances in which priests provided minors with pornography and alcohol, and of cases in which the diocese received allegations and didn't report them to police, but instead transferred the accused priests to other parishes.

According to The Atlantic (June 22, 2007):

(Placa) was accused by a grand jury of orchestrating the over-up of nearly 60 separate molestations allegations — (and is) a priest who allegedly partook of the activities himself.

This is a remarkable story about how, for Giuliani, the bonds of friendship can survive even the highest levels of moral radioactivity. If the court documents are accurate, if the allegations are true, even in part, it's also the story of a very troubled priest who abused the trust of his young charges.