A former New Jersey Catholic church employee was charged with stealing more than $500,000 from the parish to fund a lavish lifestyle that included designer clothes, a luxury vehicle and tickets to Yankees games, officials said Friday.

Joseph A. Manzi, 78, of Atlantic Highlands, served as the director of finance, operations and development for the Church of Saint Leo the Great in Lincroft for over a decade, until his firing in June of this year.

About a month after his dismissal, an auditor discovered financial irregularities in the parish accounts, according to a civil lawsuit filed by the Diocese of Trenton.

In the complaint, filed Aug. 8 in Monmouth County Superior Court, parish attorneys accused Manzi of “ systematically, secretly and dishonestly utilizing parish funds for his

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