Bernard Garstka

Ordained: 1948

A 2002 and 2003 lawsuit accused Father Gartska of sexual abuse. One of the lawsuits alleged that Gartska recruited one of the boys to serve as an altar boy when he was about 10 years old. The abuse is alleged to have occurred in the 1960s and reportedly progressed from fondling to sex. Garstka is said to have served multiple parishes, including Blessed Sacrament Church in Johnson City, Holy Trinity Church in Utica, St. Mary’s Church in Binghamton, and St. Stanislaus Church in Binghamton.