Scranton priest charged with lying about his ties to reported mobster

Published: 2008-01-08

SCRANTON, Pa. (CNS) -- A Scranton priest working as a hospital chaplain has taken a leave of absence following his Jan. 2 arrest on perjury charges stemming from a grand jury investigation into a casino owner reported to have mob connections. The Diocese of Scranton called the arrest of Father Joseph F. Sica "a deeply distressing development" but noted that the charges did not involve the diocese or the priest's service in Scranton. State police took Father Sica, 52, into custody outside his residence at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Scranton Jan. 2 and transported him to the state capital in Harrisburg, where he testified last August before a grand jury investigating Louis DeNaples, the owner of Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono. After a brief hearing in Harrisburg, Father Sica was released on $20,000 bail. His next court appearance was scheduled for Jan. 25 before Dauphin County Judge Todd A. Hoover.

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