Tax issues at center of investigation
PARADISE VALLEY, Monomi--The popular megachurch Paradise Cathedral, in Treeton's western suburbs, is facing an investigation from the Federal Senate's Faith and Religion Committee.
The church, which is famous for the many celebrities who have attended over the years, is being investigated for possible tax discrepancies and misuse of funds.
Senior Pastor Jim Mareesza, and his wife Linda, are also named in the investigation and may be asked to testify before the committee in Mavocke.
Currently, the church has an average weekly attendance of 17,000 people, and while church officials are refusing to release the sum earnings from the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the church did open an $82 million exhibition centre on the main campus in Paradise Valley last August.
Because her husband is also the pastor of a charismatic evangelical megachurch, Sen. Alyssa Jones (C-DMG), who chairs the Senate Faith and Religion Committee, has recused herself from leading the investigation, and has asked ranking member Sen. Lincoln Pacinow (N-WEL) to lead the investigation.
In a statement at the committee's hearings last week, Jones said her husband Darren Jones, who is a senior-executive pastor at Falls Church in Grassadellia City, has "met Jim and Linda Mareesza once or twice, but does not carry on a friendship with them."
Jones added that her husband met the Mareesza's at church conferences.
A lawyer for the church and for the Mareesza's did not comment on the pending case.
For years, Paradise Cathedral has served as the spiritual home of famous celebrities. The church, which became famous in the 1970's when it was first constructed, has served as the backdrop for many celebrity weddings and funerals, most recently for the funeral of actor Jack Spragen last year.
Among the many celebrities that currently attend Paradise Cathedral are actors Bob Ripmorten, Leslie Utesh, Ann Ramsey and Jeff Figlebottom. Golf star Adrian Pond has also been seen attending the Cathedral.
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