Father Luca Morini, a Catholic priest who led two parishes in rural Tuscany, currently faces charges for fraud, embezzlement, drug dealing, extortion, and money laundering. According to The Daily Beast, his impropriety was first exposed after a male escort named Francesco Mangiacapra discovered that the consensual sex-for-hire relationship he had with Morini was not what it seemed. Mangiacapra was under the impression that Morini was a high-powered judge. But then, he recognized his client in priest garb. As a devout Catholic himself, Mangiacapra was worried Father Morini was stealing from the collection plate, so Mangiacapra reported his suspicions to the diocese of Massa Carrara-Pontremoli in Tuscany. Then, a local investigative television show caught Morini snorting cocaine, frequenting a gay spa, and kissing other men. He was then suspended from the church due to an “undisclosed illness” and was then sent to a private villa for rehabilitation and will not be attending his own criminal trial. Mangiacapra later learned that most of his clients who were friends of the priest were also members of the clergy. He started researching a book on his experience called Il Numero Uno. Confessioni di un Marchettaro (The Number One. Confessions of a Prostitute) based on WhatsApp messages, screenshots, and videos of various priests in compromising positions, according to The Daily Beast. The church didn’t seem to care when it was published last March, so Mangiacapra compiled a 1,200-page dossier and sent it to the Vatican.
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