BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A former Cheektowaga priest who was removed from the clergy because of accusations that he sexually abused children has been employed to work with seniors at a Buffalo nonprofit for the last 13 years.
David Bialkowski, the former head of St. John Gualbert Catholic Church in Cheektowaga, has been working as a Senior Service Case Manager at the Lt. Col. Matt Urban Human Service Center since 2013.
Bialkowski, who is named on the Diocese of Buffalo's list of clergy with substantiated claims of sexual abuse and is accused in two Child Victims Act lawsuits, was removed from his parish in 2011 and kicked off the diocese’s payroll in 2020, before being removed from the clergy altogether by the Vatican at some point between 2020 and 2025 - a process known as laicization or defrocking.
In a 2020 interview with the Buffalo News, Bialkowski denied that he sexually abused any child or that he had tried to “groom” a child for sex.
The former priest works out of the Matt Urban Center’s building at 1081 Broadway, which also serves children and minors as part of the center’s youth programming.
“The proximity to children is disturbing,” said Steve Boyd, an attorney who has worked on around 400 Buffalo priest sexual abuse cases. “It is disturbing that somebody with that kind of background, who in essence had been removed from his role as priest, is in a center that serves children.”
ALLEGATIONS ALSO INVOLVE SENIORS
But allegations against Bialkowski also involve seniors – the population he currently works with.
In 2022, a judge ruled Bialkowski was entitled to a dead elderly parishioner’s $2 million estate, despite the objections of her relatives, who alleged she was duped by Bialkowski into leaving her assets to him in her will.
Erie County Surrogate's Court records show Bialkowski testified that he met Ruth Peters, who died in 2019, in 1995 when he worked at St. John Gualbert Church as a priest and moderator of the parish's Ladies Guild.
Boyd said Bialkowski’s current role with seniors is “certainly something that raises an eyebrow and raises the hair on the back of your neck” given the accusations of child sexual abuse against him.
“The sexual abuse stuff with the children starts with manipulation, and so there you have somebody that is a manipulator,” Boyd said. “And then when you put that person in the presence of elderly people who, you know, without being stereotypical, can be more easily manipulated than other people, I think it's a bad recipe.”
WATCH: Accused and removed former Catholic priest now working with seniors for a Buffalo nonprofit
As a Senior Services Case Manager, Bialkowski visits seniors in their homes to conduct assessments of their needs, usually one-on-one, according to an individual familiar with the former priest’s current role, who is speaking on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak with the media. They say Bialkowski’s superiors knew about the accusations against him at the time of his hiring.
“Other workers at the Matt Urban Center find it uncomfortable that Bialkowski was hired,” the individual said.
The Matt Urban Center’s Acting Executive Director Alissa Venturini said in a statement that their records show Bialkowski “completed the background screening required” at the time of employment in 2013.
“Matt Urban Human Services does not base employment decisions on allegations alone. We comply with all applicable federal and New York State employment laws and conduct our hiring and employment practices accordingly,” Venturini said.
“His duties are limited to serving older adults and he does not provide services to minors or work in programs serving children or youth,” she added.
Venturini did not answer questions regarding whether Bialkowski has been submitted to further background checks during his employment, instead saying “we do not discuss confidential employee records or any subsequent employment-related information.”
TAXPAYER FUNDED
The Matt Urban Center receives taxpayer dollars from both Erie County and the City of Buffalo to help fund their senior services department where Bialkowski works.
Erie County has provided between approximately $300 to $350k to the center annually through the Erie County Department for the Aging in the last three years alone, according to the county’s budget book.
Asked about Bialkowski’s employment at the Matt Urban Center, an Erie County spokesperson said: “The administration was unaware of that individual being employed at that facility.”
“Erie County generally does not require a list of contractor employees, instead relying on the management of community organizations to conduct screening and background checks of their workers and volunteers.”
The City of Buffalo gave a $70,000 Community Development Block Grant to the center to fund medical case management for seniors in FY 2025-2026. City officials were not aware of the allegations against Bialkowski, according to a city spokesperson.
“The allegations against Mr. Bialkowski are very concerning. Nevertheless, the City does not participate in or oversee the internal hiring decisions of independent nonprofit organizations. Personnel records, background checks, and employment determinations are the responsibility of each subrecipient agency,” the spokesperson said.
The Matt Urban Center’s Venturini said: “The safety and well-being of our participants remains our highest priority. Our agency maintains policies governing employee conduct, mandatory reporting requirements, supervisory oversight, and procedures for addressing concerns should they arise. We continuously review our policies and practices to ensure the individuals we serve receive services in a safe and respectful environment.”
Attorney Boyd said employers are “called” to provide sufficient background checks.
“Your duty is to keep the people around you safe,” Boyd said. “They may have screened [Bialkowski] and known about all of this and feel strongly that he's gotten past it, although that's not typically what happens in this world.”
“I think we need to be careful in how we screen and remember that an employer, their hiring, their supervision, their retention can be the source of a negligence case against them if one of their employees does something to harm somebody.”