The Archdiocese of Newark has settled two claims of sexual abuse against retired Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, dating back more than 50 years — when he was a priest in Jersey City — the lawyer for the plaintiffs announced on Aug. 6.
Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said the settlements were reached through a mediation process, adding that one plaintiff, Mark Matzek, now 62, received a “mid-six-figure” settlement and that a second plaintiff, Samier Tadros, now 52, received a settlement in the “low six-figures.”
The settlement was reached between the Newark Archdiocese and the plaintiffs. It did not involve DiMarzio, 81, who retired as head of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, in 2021.
“As I have said from the very beginning, in my 50-plus-year priesthood, I never abused anyone,” DiMarzio said in a statement after the settlements were announced. “I was the subject of an exhaustive, two-year canonical investigation that cleared me. I took a lie detector test and passed it.”
He said, “I did not authorize these settlements because I did not abuse anyone.”
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