Bishop who visited infamous brothel arrested making an attempt to flee nation
A high-ranking American bishop who allegedly became a regular at a seedy Mexican brothel with links to human trafficking has been arrested while trying to leave the country.
Bishop Emanuel Shaleta, 60, a senior member of the clergy at St Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in California, was arrested in San Diego on Thursday (March 5), over reports he was mismanaging finances at the church.
He also is reported to have had ties to the Hong Kong Gentlemen’s Club in Tijuana, Mexico, a brothel that operates within the region’s infamous red-light district and that has been specifically singled out as having links to human trafficking and the underground sex industry.
Shaleta is not believed to have ties to any human trafficking.
The arrest followed a months-long investigation into the bishop, who faces eight counts of embezzlement, eight counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated white-collar crime, according to officials.
“On Thursday, March 5, 2026, Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta was contacted and detained at the San Diego International Airport attempting to leave the country,” the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office revealed in a statement.
The arrest follows the publication of an investigation into the Bishop by the American Catholic news site Pillar, who last month reported that Shaleta had redirected rent payments meant for church property and used them to fund his own lifestyle, before attempting to cover his tracks using apparently bogus charity funds.
The report details that over $400,000 is confirmed missing from church accounts, but that number could in theory be over $1million.
The Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it had been contacted by a whistleblower from St. Peter Chaldean Church in August 2025 about Shaleta’s alleged wrongdoing.
“The church representative provided a statement and documents showing potential embezzlement from the church,” it said.
A statement released by a group connected to Shaleta’s church came out in support of him.
“After hearing all of the critics and attacks against our eparchy and bishop, we ask the Lord to protect our eparchy and bishop from all of the negative attacks. We are in solidarity with our eparchy and bishop,” the statement reads.
“We are awaiting the decision on this matter. Please continue to keep this eparchy in your prayers and remain faithful to the salvific mission of Christ.”
Shaleta was booked into San Diego Central Jail and is being held on $125,000 bail.
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