LI pastor in prison on sex charges dies

The former leader of a Central Islip church, who was convicted of sexual abuse and sodomy two decades ago after prosecutors said he enticed young members into having sex by claiming he was the Archangel Gabriel, has died while serving time in prison.

John J. Gargano, 87, who served eight years as pastor of the now-defunct Eternal Tabernacle Church, died Saturday at Mount Vernon Hospital, said his wife, Lori.

Gargano was convicted in 1991 of first-degree sexual abuse and first- and third-degree sodomy.

He had been transferred to the Fishkill Regional Medical Unit in May due to declining health, said Peter Cutler, a spokesman for the New York Department of Correction.

Before his conviction in 1991, accusations against Gargano snowballed, eventually leading to the closing of the church. His arrest triggered the resignation of the then-assistant commissioner for the New York City Department of Health, who had been a member at Gargano's church. A police probe found that the church member secured Gargano ghost employment at Lincoln Hospital's Substance Abuse Center in the Bronx.

Gargano was sentenced in July 1991 to 40 years after prosecutors said he manipulated members, including a 14-year-old girl, into having sex with him by claiming to be an incarnation of the Archangel Gabriel.

Lori Gargano insisted Monday her husband was innocent and said prison life killed him.

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"His heart couldn't take it. I lost my best friend," she said. "Our bond was unbelievable."

Gargano said her husband died at Mount Vernon Hospital from a possible heart attack. She said she's awaiting results from the doctor on an official cause of death.

Gargano was scheduled for a parole hearing in November. Had he been granted parole, he would have been released from prison in March 2012, Cutler said.

"He's free now," said Lori Gargano, 61. "I'm so happy for him, but I'm sad for me."