Free Republic

SCRANTON – Reputed Mafia boss William “Billy” D’Elia was sentenced Monday to nine years in federal prison, but he could reduce that sentence further if he provides “substantial” assistance in the prosecution of Mount Airy Casino owner Louis DeNaples, a prosecutor said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod said the amount of time D’Elia might shave off his sentence is dependent upon how helpful he is in aiding Dauphin County prosecutors in the pending perjury cases against DeNaples and his longtime spiritual adviser, the Rev. Joseph Sica. The offer is in addition to already significant concessions the U.S. Attorney’s Office has...

A letter Father Joseph Sica wrote to former Gov. Dick Thornburgh's wife sought mercy for organized crime boss Russell Bufalino, claiming Bufalino had been wrongly convicted of seeking to have a witness killed. The letter, written in 1982, was one of several letters and photos Dauphin County prosecutors say prove Sica, a priest within the Diocese of Scranton, lied to a grand jury regarding his relationship with Bufalino. Sica was indicted this morning on a charge of perjury in connection with testimony he gave on Aug. 29 before a grand jury investigating Mount Airy Casino owner Louis DeNaples. The panel...

New Details Emerge in Hoffa Case BY EDWARD LEWIS TIMES-SHAMROCK NEWS WRITER 03/19/2004 Details of a written confession by a man who claims to have had a role in the 1975 murder of Jimmy Hoffa shed light on Northeastern Pennsylvania mob boss Russell Bufalino's underworld involvement. The three-page confession by Frank Sheeran, 83, was allegedly written in November, about a month before he died in a Chester County nursing home. Highlights of the deathbed confession, which is not corroborated, were publicized earlier this week by the Philadelphia Daily News. The bottom of each page of the confession bears Mr. Sheeran's...