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	DA's Office Opposes Sica's Motions, Denies Misconduct Prosecutors in the Perjury Case against the Rev. Joseph F. Sica Have Asked the State Supreme Court to Reject Father Sica's Request That It Review His Case before a Preliminary Hearing Can Be Held. By Dave Janoski The Times-Tribune February 9, 2008 http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19279209&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6 The Rev. Sica was arrested Jan. 2 and charged with lying to a grand jury that subsequently recommended perjury charges against his friend, Dunmore businessman and Mount Airy Casino Resort owner Louis A. DeNaples. The priest's attorney, Sal Cognetti Jr., has asked the state Supreme Court to intervene and dismiss the charges against his client, who serves as chaplain at Mercy Hospital. He is free on $20,000 bail. Mr. Cognetti also asked the court to investigate alleged misconduct by Dauphin County prosecutors, citing media coverage of closed-door grand jury sessions before the charges against the Rev. Sica, 52, and Mr. DeNaples, 67, were publicly announced. The Dauphin County district attorney's office, in a motion filed this week, argued there was no compelling reason for the Supreme Court to intervene and denied there was any misconduct. "Since there has not yet been a preliminary hearing, the facts have not been developed for any appellate review," the motion states. The Rev. Sica's preliminary hearing, scheduled for Jan. 25, was indefinitely postponed after his filing with the state Supreme Court. The prosecution motion also denies it violated the secrecy of the grand jury, arguing press accounts of the grand jury probe were based on interviews with witnesses or their attorneys after they had left the grand jury room. "There has been no showing of impropriety with regard to grand jury secrecy," the prosecution argues. Father Sica is accused of lying in his grand jury testimony about his ties to two reputed organized crime figures, the late Russell Bufalino, of Kingston, and William D'Elia, of Hughestown, who is awaiting trial on conspiracy to commit murder and other charges. The grand jury was investigating whether Mr. DeNaples, in testimony before state gaming regulators, lied about his relationships to Mr. Bufalino and Mr. D'Elia and two Philadelphia men arrested in a political corruption case. On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board barred Mr. DeNaples from his Mount Airy Casino Resort, appointed a trustee and placed all casino profits in an escrow account pending the outcome of his perjury case. Contact the writer: djanoski@citizensvoice.com
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