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Cardinal named in racketeering lawsuit

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Cardinal Roger Mahony was named in a federal racketeering civil lawsuit Monday by four men who claim church officials conspired to cover up decades of child sexual abuse by a former priest.

One of the alleged victims told a news conference that beginning in 1976, while he was an altar boy, he was abused by then-Los Angeles priest, Rev. Michael Stephen Baker.

The alleged abuse continued for 10 years but the victim said he did not come forward, claiming he was "too embarrassed to tell anyone and felt great humiliation and pain."

Three other alleged victims in the suit described similar claims of sexual abuse against Baker over the past three decades.

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The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses Mahony and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles of having "engaged in or joined in a conspiracy to intentionally, recklessly and/or negligently conceal criminal conduct of its agents."

The federal Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, was aimed at organized crime but includes provisions for civil cases when someone is harmed by a "pattern" of illegal activity, according to attorney Jeff Anderson, who filed the suit on behalf of the alleged victims.

"Mahony belongs in prison for aiding and abetting Michael Baker, for protecting a pedophile priest," he said.

Mahony issued a statement in which he dismissed the latest claims and pledged to "continue assisting victims of clergy abuse and cooperating with law enforcement agencies."

"The RICO claims brought today are baseless and irresponsible," Mahony said. "I will let the legal system address the technical issues surrounding these claims."

Baker, a 54-year old former priest, admitted engaging in sexual abuse of minors in 1986 but was allowed to continue serving in the ministry after receiving counseling under Mahony's advice, according to a letter Mahony sent to 1,200 priests in the Los Angeles region last week.

In late 2000, Mahony approved a confidential $1.3 million civil settlement with two alleged victims in a separate case after disclosures that Baker allegedly abused them over a 13-year period.

In his letter to the priests, Mahony said he accepted full responsibility for failing to take action earlier in that case.

"If I had known in those years what I discovered in early 2000, I would have dismissed him from all ministry and requested his dismissal from the priesthood in the late 1980s," Mahony wrote.

Authorities are investigating possible criminal charges against Baker, according to Sgt. Dan Scott, lead investigator in the sex crimes unit for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

Baker was allowed to retire from the Los Angeles Archdiocese in late 2000 after being defrocked, according to Mahony.