Catholic Diocese Of Buffalo

A recent series in The Buffalo News revealed who was suspected in the 1966 murder of Monsignor Francis J. O'Connor and why some believe the investigation came to a sudden end. Here are excerpts from a Q&A on the series.

Five years later, despite promises to do right by abuse victims, the diocese has not paid a penny in damages to an estimated 900 people who filed claims alleging they were sexually abused by priests or other diocese employees.

During the free event, Watchdog Team reporters Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck, and their editor, Mike McAndrew, will talk about the unsolved murder of Monsignor Francis J. O’Connor.

 “As a Catholic and as an attorney, this has to be put right before God and with the community’s conscience,” said Michael S. Taheri, who volunteers at St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy in East Buffalo.

Revealed in the 56-year-old reports on the murder of Monsignor Francis J. O'Connor were shocking secrets – a priest and a diocese journalist had been suspects – and a cache of other never-before released details. 

Day 18: “The investigation seemed to stop. We didn’t know anything,” Monsignor Francis J. O’Connor's niece said. “We were disappointed.”

Day 16: Nearly 57 years later, with Bishop James A. McNulty and everyone in his inner circle long dead, questions remain about the former bishop and whether he had a role in ending the police investigation into the still unsolved homicide.

Day 15: Priests who drank to excess, gambled, stole money, molested children, had affairs or engaged in other crimes or frowned-upon behavior were taken to Monsignor Franklin M. Kelliher for physical punishment, according to sources.

Day 14: “For an investigation that important to be suddenly shut down, that had to be orders from the very top,” long-retired detective Gregory Simonian said.

Day 13: The use of a lush English Tudor style mansion in Bemus Point to house some molester priests irks some of the men who say they were sexually abused by priests in the 1960s.

Day 12: A six-page account of the interview, dated March 26, 1966, is among the most fascinating reports in the case file of the murder of Monsignor Francis J. O’Connor.

Day 11: Reports filed by homicide detectives back then portray Rev. John D. Lewandowski as a hard-drinking man who used profane sexual language around youngsters.

Day 10: The 56-year-old reports obtained by The Buffalo News revealed for the first time that the Rev. John D. Lewandowski was considered a suspect by police. 

Day 9: While opinions differ on Monsignor Francis J. O’Connor's sexual orientation, one thing is certain – for gay men in Buffalo in the 1960s, it was an uneasy time.

Day 8: Though so much of the work conducted by detectives would lead to dead-ends, the 56-year-old homicide file The Buffalo News reviewed in 2022 reflects meticulous police work was being carried out early in the probe.

Day 7: A Freedom of Information request filed by The Buffalo News with Buffalo Police recently flung open the case files buried in a secure warehouse, revealing all kinds of details, including the names of suspects.

Day 6: Leo J. Donovan was no stranger to headline-making murder cases. The son of a city firefighter, Donovan grew up in South Buffalo and the Old First Ward and became a local legend in law enforcement.

Day 5: It became clear that what started out as a massive investigation involving dozens of detectives was suddenly halted without an explanation provided in the official reports or to the public.