At the center of the latest push to out Bishop Richard Malone are secret recordings made by his longtime secretary Ryzard Biernat— the second whistleblower in the Diocese of Buffalo.
Friend and former executive assisant to the Bishop, Siobhan O'Connor was the first.
"For me, I gave up a job. For him, he gave up a vocation and I think his future is a bit uncertain," said O'Connor.
Biernat, a native of Poland and a recent U.S. citizen, is currently on leave from the Diocese. While serving as the Bishop's secretary, he recorded several staff meetings in which the Bishop expressed concern about sexual misconduct allegations by former Christ the King seminarian Matthew Bojanowski against Cheektowaga Priest Father Jeff Nowak.
"He's done things that are clearly wrong and I think he's [Nowak] a sick puppy," Malone said on the recording.
Malone also called Nowak "dangerous" and said the priest was envious of the close friendship Bojanawski had with Beirnat.
"He [Nowak] was very emotional and very broken up. Jeff was broken by the feeling that he had lost that special relationship and its future with Matthew Bojanowski to Ryzard Biernat," Malone continued.
The conversations continue with the Bishop discussing Nowak rummaging through Bojanowski's things and finding a letter between the seminarian and secretary. Malone claims Nowak circulated the letter throughout the Diocese, suggesting the two were in an intimate relationship.
It's something Biernat denies on the tapes, but the Bishop says if the story gets out it could force his resignation.
"If they can prove that there's an inappropriate sexual relationship between you [Biernat] and Matthew and I've known about that and you have stayed as my secretary, I'm all done," said Malone.
You can also hear the Bishop talk to Beirnat about what to avoid when talking to media on the recordings.
"I don't want mystique found in the Jeff part," Malone added. "Please don't get into that part of it. I think they're gonna blow this story out into something like an atom bomb. It sounds like a soap opera."
Bojanowski says he alerted the Bishop in January about the sexual misconduct, but Nowak was not removed from ministry until last week. During an interview with WBEN Friday, Malone said the only way he would have changed his handling of the case is moving faster with the investigation.
Steve Halter, a Diocese investigator who can also be heard on the recordings, told Spectrum News Friday that they have reached out to Bojanowski's attorney to investigate his claims, but have not heard back. Halter says they've also hired an investigator who was a 30-year veteran of the Buffalo Police Department to help with cases.