Priest indicted in DeNaples probe

HARRISBURG – A prominent area priest was indicted on perjury charges Wednesday by a grand jury investigating whether casino owner Louis DeNaples lied to gaming officials regarding his connection to organized crime members.

The Rev. Joseph Sica, who served at St. Aloysius Church in Wilkes-Barre as an assistant pastor, is accused of misrepresenting his relationship with Russell Bufalino, who officials have said was an organized crime boss who headed the Bufalino crime family in the Pittston area for decades. Bufalino died in 1994.

The indictment by a Dauphin County grand jury, is the first to come out of the probe into whether DeNaples, a Dunmore businessman and owner of Mount Airy Casino Resort, lied to the state Gaming Board regarding his association with alleged mob figures, including William D’Elia of Hughestown. DeNaples was awarded a much-coveted slots license after addressing the Gaming Board.

Dauphin County First Assistant District Attorney Francis T. Chardo said in a press release the investigation is continuing. The grand jury’s term has been extended and the panel “may continue to receive evidence and consider appropriate charges against other individuals.”

Sica, 52, was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and released on $20,000 unsecured bail.

Sica has been a priest within the Diocese of Scranton since 1982 and serves as chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Scranton. In a prepared statement, the Diocese said Sica requested and was granted a leave of absence and will not celebrate Mass publicly while he attends to his legal issues.

Sica, a close friend and adviser to DeNaples, was subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury on Aug. 29. Prosecutors said Sica’s alleged relationship with known criminals was material in determining whether DeNaples associated with the same people.

According to the indictment, Sica testified he had met Bufalino by chance and that he had no relationship with him.

The grand jury was presented with several photos depicting Sica with Bufalino at various social functions, as well as a letter Sica had written in July 1982 to then Gov. Dick Thornburgh’s wife, Ginny, seeking her help in getting Bufalino released from prison.

At the time, Bufalino had just been sentenced to 10 years in prison for trying to arrange the murder of a Jack Napoli, a mobster-turned-informant who was a key witness in an extortion case against Bufalino.

In the letter, Sica railed against the federal government, saying prosecutors had “set up” Bufalino for a crime he did not commit.

“It is all a conspiracy against a man who has lived a life of honesty, generosity, justice and a belief in the American system,” Sica wrote. “Russell is a perfect example of a conspiracy, so what I am asking is for you to help me in giving Russell the freedom and justice he so deserves.”

The grand jury also learned Bufalino had attended a party celebrating Sica’s ordination. A photo of that occasion shows Sica with Bufalino and Bufalino’s wife. Other photos presented to the grand jury depict Sica with Bufalino and D’Elia.

“The evidence demonstrates clearly that Sica had a substantial relationship with Russell Bufalino. The testimony to the contrary was knowingly false,” the indictment says.

DeNaples’ spokesman, Kevin Feeley, said DeNaples’ family took in Sica as a child and essentially raised him. The two men have been close friends for more than 40 years, he said.

That “does not change the fact that Louis DeNaples has no ties to organized crime,” Feeley said.

Sica, who was wearing a clerical collar at Wednesday’s hearing before Dauphin County Judge Todd A. Hoover, was handcuffed as he was led out of the courtroom, but he was released a short time later. Hoover, who is overseeing the ongoing grand jury probe, scheduled a Jan. 25 preliminary hearing.

Chardo told the judge that Sica owns a handgun, “which struck me as odd,” and had $1,000 in cash on him when he was arrested.

Also, after being taken into custody, Chardo said Sica used his cell phone to call DeNaples. The state trooper who arrested him overheard DeNaples tell Sica, “Don’t say anything. We’ll take care of this,” Chardo said.

The priest, who was represented by two Harrisburg lawyers at Wednesday’s hearing, declined to speak to reporters as he left the courthouse.

Sica has spent most of his career at churches in the Scranton area, but was well known locally for his work as assistant pastor at St. Aloysius and as chaplain at the former Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre. He is the author of two books: “Embracing Change -- 10 Ways to Grow Spiritually and Emotionally,” published in 2003, and “Do It Yourself Joy,” published in 2004.

Sica was appointed assistant pastor at St. Aloysius in June 2002 and later served as chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Wilkes-Barre until November 2005, when the hospital was acquired by the Geisinger Health System. He then became chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Scranton, according to Times Leader archives.

Betsy Dalsanto, a spokeswoman at Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre who held that position at Mercy prior to the sale, said Sica was well-liked within the hospital and community.

“Everyone seemed to get along with him. He was willing to help get involved in projects. He was very friendly. He had a kind word for everyone,” she said.

Monsignor Joseph Rauscher of St. Nicholas Church in Wilkes-Barre said Sica was known for his outgoing personality.

“He was a very, very active person,” Rauscher said. “He was known to be a good speaker and known to have done a lot of programs.”

In a prepared statement, Jack Coyle, a spokesman for Mercy Hospital in Scranton, said Sica has served patients and staff at the hospital in an “exemplary fashion.”

“We believe in the presumption of his innocence and hope this situation will resolve itself in a benign manner,” the statement said.