Volunteers charged for stealing thousands from NYC church

Two sextons at an Upper West Side church were indicted on grand larceny raps for stealing thousands dollars in donations — including skimming from a collection for the family of tragic parishioner and 4-year-old Ariel Russo, who was fatally struck by an unlicensed teen driver last June, according to court papers.

Flavio Ramirez and Frederic Ello pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court to stealing more than $20,000 in cash and check donations from the Roman Catholic Holy Name of Jesus Church at 96th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

Sofia and Alan Russo lost their daughter Ariel when a teen driver jumped a curb and crushed her on her way to school on June 4, 2013.

The family attended Holy Name, which announced a special collection for the family shortly after Ariel’s passing.

Alan and Sofia Russo.

“Parishioners placed an unusually generous amount of cash in the collection receptacles, according to a church leader who observed this activity,” court papers state. “And yet when the funds were counted, Holy Name observed that cash appeared to be missing.”

Ramirez’s and Ellos’ church duties included handling the donations from the offering plate during weekend church services and transferring the cash to a safe.

Church leaders became suspicious when they reviewed donations and noticed a surprising dip between August 2012 and June 2013.

They hired a private investigator who installed hidden cameras near the safe.

The wayward workers were caught on video using twine and a hook to fish cash and checks out of an opening at the top of the safe.

Ramirez returned $10,490 of the stolen funds after being confronted.

An investigation revealed that 109 checks worth $11,224 were also stolen and cashed using a third accomplice’s bank account.

It’s unclear how much of the stolen money was intended for the grieving Russo family.

Calls to the church weren’t immediately returned.

In happier news, five-months-pregnant Sofia Russo announced that she’s expecting a little boy after her daughter’s alleged killer, Franklin Reyes, appeared briefly in Manhattan Supreme Court Wednesday on manslaughter and assault raps.

“We feel really really blessed,” said Sofia as her voiced cracked with emotion. “Our 3-year-old son is very happy and picked out the name.”

The couples’ son picked the name “James,” after a character from “Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends.”