Kevin Kite

Kevin Kite

Kevin Lee Kite (January 3, 1964-June 4, 2009) was the first person to come forward with accusations of sexual impropriety against Father Bruce Ritter, founder of the charity Covenant House.

In December 1989 Kevin Lee Kite, claimed in an interview in The New York Post that Father Ritter had used some $125,000 in Covenant House funds to support him in return for sexual favors. Kite also claimed that Ritter had provided him with papers that allowed him to assume the identity of Tim Warner, a young boy who had died of cancer. Subsequently three former residents of Covenant House — Darryl J. Bassile, Paul Johnson, and John Melican — came forward stating that they had been involved in past sexual relationships with Father Ritter.

Kite's accusations opened the door for financial scrutiny of Covenant House which led to charges of financial impropriety stemming from the use of a $1 million tax-exempt "Franciscan Charitable Trust." This fund was established by Ritter in 1983, apparently without the knowledge of his Franciscan order or of the full board directors of Covenant House. The fund was not registered with the state of New York, nor did it file returns with the IRS. The trust, ostensibly set up to support Covenant House charitable work, was used primarily to make substantial personal payments to Kite and others. The Covenant House board eventually found no serious financial impropriety, but uncovered extensive evidence of sexual misconduct. The "Franciscan Charitable Trust" funds were turned over to Covenant House to use for the work of helping rescue homeless teens from the street.