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    Colombian priests hire hitmen to kill themselves

    By LIBARDO CARDONA | Associated Press – Tue, Feb 14, 2012

    BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Rev. Rafael Reatiga asked his parishioners to pray for him and gave the choirmaster a list of songs for his funeral just before he was found shot to death together with another Roman Catholic priest, a Colombian prosecutor said Tuesday.

    Authorities initially suspected robbery when Reatiga's body was found along with that of Rev. Richard Piffano, 37, in a car in southern Bogota on Jan. 27, 2011.

    But on Tuesday prosecutor Ana Patricia Larrota said investigators had determined that it was suicide by hitmen: the two priests hired gunmen to kill them after Reatiga discovered he had AIDS.

    The priests gave members of a criminal gang the equivalent of $8,500, said the chief investigator of the prosecutor's office, Maritza Gonzalez, as two of the four alleged assassins appeared before a judge for processing.

    She said the two priests had originally planned to throw themselves off a cliff into a canyon north of Bogota but apparently lacked the nerve.

    In addition to AIDS, Reatiga had syphilis and witness testimony indicated he was a regular visitor to places frequented by gays in central Bogota, Larrota told the judge who processed the two alleged assassins on Tuesday.

    Gildardo Alberto Penate and Isidro Castiblanco were charged with aggravated homicide, said Larrota. Each faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

    Three weeks before their deaths, Reatiga had transferred his possessions to his mother. Piffano withdrew about $3,700 from his bank account on the day of his death, Gonzalez said.

    Investigators said they located the alleged killers based on telephone numbers the priests had called from their cell phones in the days before their deaths.

    Some of the numbers ended up belonging to a criminal band involved in counterfeiting, fraud and arms trafficking, they said. It allegedly supplied the killers, including two who authorities say remain at large.

     

    48 comments

    • Occupy Peace
      Occupy Peace  •  Bellevue, Washington  •  3 mths ago
      These are our spiritual leaders? Sad........
      • Ricky Heinrich
        Ricky Heinrich 3 mths ago
        Did you expect them to be any different than you, we are all dissapointing in Gods eyes that is why He sent Jesus so He could be happy with us again in spite of ourselves.
      • William
        William 3 mths ago
        These are YOUR spiritual leaders maybe. I don't have a spirit, so it doesn't really need led
      • BILLY D.
        BILLY D. 3 mths ago
        They certainly ARE NOT my spiritual leaders...they belong to the other team, the team that got ejected and damned.
    • Robert G Ingersoll
      Robert G Ingersoll  •  Mililani Town, Hawaii  •  3 mths ago
      And Catholics still confess their sins to men like these two ? If you believe in God, why do you need an intermediary ?
      • Bob
        Bob 3 mths ago
        Priests do not act as an intermediary. The Bible says that we are to confess your sins one to the other so that you may be healed. They listen and help the parishioner find reconciliation.
      • JAMES
        JAMES 3 mths ago
        thanks Bob...
      • Alex
        Alex 3 mths ago
        Dont need an intermediary Bob!, I believe in God, not an organized religion.
    • Lionsdread
      Lionsdread  •  , US Virgin Islands  •  3 mths ago
      Amazing how the cops don't know who are, or even have access to phone numbers of hitmen,.. but two young gay priests do.
      • Micahel
        Micahel 3 mths ago
        In Colombia anyone will hit you for $8,500 D/S.
      • LeoS
        LeoS 3 mths ago
        Surprisingly Hitmen are very religious people, a priest would have a list of murderers, prostitutes and all kids of rough people that any intelligence agency would envy
    • The Wiz
      The Wiz  •  3 mths ago
      Not the brightest bulbs in the socket.... Suicide is a sin and paying someone to kill you is no less a sin than shooting yourself!
    • Alex
      Alex  •  Dekalb, Illinois  •  3 mths ago
      I'm unsure if he killed himself due to his sexuality, a triviality, or if he chose a quick death over dieing to various diseases due to AIDS. Either way, a path that leads one to kill himself when he can continue living is an incorrect path.
      • William
        William 3 mths ago
        We all gotta die sometime. These guys took charge of the situation, I'll give em that much
      • George B
        George B 3 mths ago
        dieing to various diseases - great writing and spelling.
      • Alex
        Alex 3 mths ago
        Yeah, I guess one could make an argument that a quick death is better than a prolonged one depending on the circumstances, but I don't think the circumstances in this case really warranted prematurely ending his life.
    • Brad
      Brad  •  3 mths ago
      Some news is not a surprise. Gay priests is one of them.
    • Joseph Hillstrom
      Joseph Hillstrom  •  3 mths ago
      Time for the Church to end this unnatural and backwards ritual called celibacy.
    • Kevin
      Kevin  •  Miami, Florida  •  3 mths ago
      Vicars of christ. LOL!
    • James Bond
      James Bond  •  3 mths ago
      They should have used a condom . . .
    • Zorlock
      Zorlock  •  3 mths ago
      Humans are born with a biological imperative to reproduce...Catholic Church dogma flies in the face of that imperative and thus attracts gays and pedophiles. I have no problem with gays...they are wired differently and if God made us all then it confounds me that most religions are against gays...seems a serious contradiction.
    • Groucho Marxist
      Groucho Marxist  •  3 mths ago
      Suicide is a sin.
    • Let her be
      Let her be  •  3 mths ago
      Well, that's different.
    • T.Ruth
      T.Ruth  •  3 mths ago
      A priest pays someone to commit mortal sin.... Dishonest, hypocrite, brothels.... it was sacriledge for him to say mass. What a disgrace! Just amazing.
    • Alex
      Alex  •  3 mths ago
      They couldnt just overdose on sleeping pill mixed w/ lots of alcohol, or electricute themselves in the tub, not that i really care.
    • marc n
      marc n  •  Des Plaines, Illinois  •  3 mths ago
      it amazes me how many people still hang on every word of the churches so called "holy men" and give them their lives savings...a fool is born every minute i guess......if there really was a christian type god most priest would have burst into flames along time ago.
    • BILLY D.
      BILLY D.  •  Monacillo, Puerto Rico  •  3 mths ago
      And some people still think these are men of God? God is nowhere near these sorry abominations. Open up your eyes people...if you have God in you, you don't do anything that would offend Him. The catholic church has a lot to answer for...someday it will try to justify all those misdeeds and I assure you, it will be found lacking and guilty as charged.
    • Matt C.
      Matt C.  •  3 mths ago
      Wouldn't it be cheaper if the priests just shot each other? Guess where they were going, no money would be needed.
    • Ricardo Stone
      Ricardo Stone  •  3 mths ago
      Having a hard time keeping my breakfast down.
    • AUGUSTUS MCCRAE
      AUGUSTUS MCCRAE  •  3 mths ago
      didnt that headline state the hitmen were killing themselves?
    • Eric the German
      Eric the German  •  Indio, California  •  3 mths ago
      A lot of Catholic priests are gay. This is what they get. Better this than to violate young boys as many Catholic priests do. They most likely gave each other AIDS. They should have had the courage to kill themselves instead of involving others. It would have been cheaper too.
     Post a comment
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