Former St. Leo The Great Finance Director Now Criminally Charged With Theft

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The former finance director at St. Leo the Great has now been criminally charged with stealing more than $500,000 from the church.

Joseph Manzi, 78, was sued by the church in August on allegations he stole $1.6 million of the church's operating funds over the past six years.

Now, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced criminal charges against Manzi.

Manzi is charged with second-degree theft by unlawful taking. He lives with his wife in the Atlantic Highlands section of Middletown. If he's found guilty, he's facing five to ten years in state prison.

Manzi is the former director of finance, operations and development for the Church of Saint Leo the Great, the Roman Catholic church in the Lincroft section of Middletown. His employment there ended in June.

St. Leo sued Manzi in a civil lawsuit filed Aug. 8 in Monmouth County Superior Court. The lawsuit has been made public; you can read a copy of it here.

Church staff later reviewed the church’s credit card statements and identified numerous unauthorized charges that police say Manzi made for his own personal benefit. Church staff said Manzi had sole control of the church’s credit cards, which carried his name.

The Attorney General said Manzi put $300,000 on St. Leo's credit cards to pay for the following: His daughter's wedding, landscaping on his home, car repairs on his personal cars, the financing of a Cadillac SUV; luxury clothing; personal home repairs and services; personal medical and dental payments; sports event tickets including New York Yankees games; payments to fraternal organizations; chartered fishing trips and to pay for his own personal insurance.

He is also accused of diverting $200,000 in cash from St. Leo from January 11, 2019, through May 7, 2025.

“The defendant is alleged to have used his position of trust to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the church,” Attorney General Platkin said. “As described in the complaint, this conduct was not to feed his family or for some kind of emergency, but to live a more lavish lifestyle. His alleged criminal acts will not be tolerated.”

Attorney General Platkin would like to thank the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Middletown Township Police Department for their "outstanding police work" in assisting with this case.

Original article from when St. Leo the Great first sued Manzi in civil court (August 2025)