The Bronx priest who finally went public with an incredible secret he kept for a dozen years said he has fulfilled his duty to the troubled teen gangster who confessed to a murder and was slain years later.
“My coming to the court was nothing more than . . . what he wanted me to do,” the Rev. Joseph Towle said yesterday outside Manhattan federal court, where his testimony helped free one man and will likely soon free another.
“At this moment 13 years later, I have done what he wanted me to do,” Towle said.
Towle, a priest in the Hunts Point section, met with 17-year-old Jesus Fornes in 1988, when the distraught teen admitted to the killing and said two acquaintances, José Morales and Ruben Montalvo, were innocent.
Montalvo and Morales were sentenced to life in prison for the murder, but Towle felt he could not come forward because Fornes’ admission came during a confidential talk with a priest – although not a formal confession.
“I’m very happy for the two young men and I’m very happy for their families,” Towle said outside court. “I’m very sorry for the [victim José Rivera’s] family and know what they’re going through.”
Towle said he always knew Fornes had told him the truth, and praised Judge Denny Chin for declaring the innocence of Morales and Montalvo.
“I prayed for these boys,” said Towle, adding that the two who were sent to prison as teens have grown into educated, devout men in prison.
“They have discovered a deep faith in God,” he said.