Pepsi and Donald Kendall

[James Richards]

Pepsi has long maintained ties to the intelligence community. One product of the relationship was a Pepsi plant in Vientiane, Laos with a laboratory outfitted for heroin production. Alfred McCoy, in *The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia* documents the efforts of Richard Nixon to promote the plant's construction in 1965, and the CIA's continuing subsidization of the plant. McCoy complained to Pepsi officials that the facilities were but a cover for the importation and refinement of morphine, but it continued to operate unhindered.) (Thomas Purvis)

So not to divert the Carcano thread, I thought PepsiCo's president Donald Kendall deserved his own thread. Kendall was a close friend and supporter of Richard Nixon; in fact, he allegedly travelled to Dallas with Nixon.

Kendall was co-chairman of the Soviet American Trade Council, Chairman of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, was a big contributor to President Ford's election committee and was responsible for getting Pepsi into the Soviet Union. Kendall also had ties to Empire Trust and General Dynamics.

The image below shows Kendall on the left and Herman Lay (board chairman of Frito-Lay) after their two companies merged.

James

Edited June 4, 2006 by James Richards

[William Kelly]

Hey JR,

I think Don Kendall deserves his own thread too.

Besides Nixon's association with the man, there's also two other connections to the JFK assassination, Chauncy Holt's assertion that Philip Twombly, who owned a Fullerton, California bank, sponsored some of his field trips, and Ed Meyers' ownership of the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company franchises in Brooklyn, New York, and his travels the week of the assassination.

Holt said Twombly owned an orange soda franchise affiliated with Pepsi.

I found Twombly in Who's Who, and his widow is a University of California, Fullerton trustee.

When testifying in executive session before the HSCA, Jim Braden also utilized the services of a DC attorney named Twombly, who later lost track of his client's whereabouts.

Holt also said he believed Twombly as in Dallas at the Pepsi convention.

Ruby's pal from Chicago, Larry Meyers, went to the Cabana Hotel mezz lounge on the Thursday night before the assassination to attend a Pepsi party, where around midnight Ruby checked in with them.

Among those at the table were Ruby, Larry Meyers from Chicago and his girlfriend Jean Aase (West), Larry's brother Ed and his wife, who were just in from Mexico City, and possibly Larry's son Ralph. In Mexico City, Ed and Themla reportedly visited Ralph Meyers, a former ASA codebreaker and freelance journalist who was living in Mexico City and had an interest in the Mayan Indians.

Whether by contrivance, happenstance or coincidence, the Pepsi convention in Dallas entwined intimately with the Dealey Plaza operation.

BK

[James Richards]

Good stuff, Bill.

Were you able to get any background on Twombly?

Also, do you know anything about this guy David L. Palmer that Holt said was an associate of Twombly?

James

[William Kelly]

Good stuff, Bill.

Were you able to get any background on Twombly?

Also, do you know anything about this guy David L. Palmer that Holt said was an associate of Twombly?

James

\

Hi James,

I found Twombly in Who's Who and there's pix of hiw wife on the internet from UofCalf., Fullerton.

Nothing on Palmer. What do you have on him?

I'm more interested in Ed Meyers, and his visit to his nephew Ralph in Mexico City the week before the assassination, and whether Ralph was in Dallas too.

BK

[James Richards]

Good stuff, Bill.

Were you able to get any background on Twombly?

Also, do you know anything about this guy David L. Palmer that Holt said was an associate of Twombly?

James

\

Hi James,

I found Twombly in Who's Who and there's pix of hiw wife on the internet from UofCalf., Fullerton.

Nothing on Palmer. What do you have on him?

I'm more interested in Ed Meyers, and his visit to his nephew Ralph in Mexico City the week before the assassination, and whether Ralph was in Dallas too.

BK

Hi Bill,

Unfortunately, I have nothing on Palmer.

James

[Pat Speer]

Kendall was instrumental in gaining Nixon's support for the overthrow of Allende as well. Kendall is believed to have put pressure on Nixon to do something about Allende. Allende may have won the hearts of his people, but Pepsi and ITT had different ideas.

P.S. Bill, is the Braden testimony avaiable online anywhere? I've been dying to read Braden's and Hall's testimony for years now?

Edited June 19, 2006 by Pat Speer

[William Kelly]

Kendall was instrumental in gaining Nixon's support for the overthrow of Allende as well. Kendall is believed to have put pressure on Nixon to do something about him. Allende may have won the hearts of his people, but Pepsi and ITT had different ideas.

P.S. Bill, is the Braden testimony avaiable online anywhere? I've been dying to read Braden's and Hall's testimony for years now?

Hi Pat,

Forgot about Pepsi and Chile. Sort of like United Fruit and Guatemala.

Braden's testimony is not on line as far as I can tell, so I retrieved my copy of his two days of executive sessions and will send them to Rex Bradford to scan and post.

Have nothing on Hall, except what Harry Dean says.

I will post a summary if you want.

BK

[Pat Speer]

Kendall was instrumental in gaining Nixon's support for the overthrow of Allende as well. Kendall is believed to have put pressure on Nixon to do something about him. Allende may have won the hearts of his people, but Pepsi and ITT had different ideas.

P.S. Bill, is the Braden testimony avaiable online anywhere? I've been dying to read Braden's and Hall's testimony for years now?

Hi Pat,

Forgot about Pepsi and Chile. Sort of like United Fruit and Guatemala.

Braden's testimony is not on line as far as I can tell, so I retrieved my copy of his two days of executive sessions and will send them to Rex Bradford to scan and post.

Have nothing on Hall, except what Harry Dean says.

I will post a summary if you want.

BK

That's a great idea about sending it to Rex. My research into Braden is more a curiousity than an area of intense focus. That could change after reading his explanations, however. I know you've looked into Braden. Do you feel he was involved? Have you looked into the tenants of the Dal-Tex to see if any of them had ties with Braden? Is there any connection between Morty Freedman, who had an office in the Dal-Tex, and Mort Freeman, who was a Trafficante associate? Or are the similarities in their names just a coincidence? I guess what I'm saying is a summary would be lovely. Thank you

And doubt worry about forgetting all about Pepsi and Chile. In California, we eat our hamburgers with Pepsi and chili, and have chiles on the brain.

[William Kelly]

That's a great idea about sending it to Rex. My research into Braden is more a curiousity than an area of intense focus. That could change after reading his explanations, however. I know you've looked into Braden. Do you feel he was involved? Have you looked into the tenants of the Dal-Tex to see if any of them had ties with Braden? Is there any connection between Morty Freedman, who had an office in the Dal-Tex, and Mort Freeman, who was a Trafficante associate? Or are the similarities in their names just a coincidence? I guess what I'm saying is a summary would be lovely. Thank you

And doubt worry about forgetting all about Pepsi and Chile. In California, we eat our hamburgers with Pepsi and chili, and have chiles on the brain.

Pat, I'll put a summary of the testimony in the Jim Braden thread rather than here, but you'll have to wait till later as I have a busy day today.

Don't know about the Morty/Mort Freeman connection.

BK

[Mark Johansson]

Here is some information from Wim that he posted a few weeks ago::

Okay, fair enough. So you believe that Prescott had an influence over Nixon , and was friends with Dulles too. And you believe that Dulles (who was fired by JFK) and Nixon (who lost to JFK) planned the BOP. Correct? Do you believe Dulles knew about the plot? Do you believe Donald Kendall knew about the plot? Do you know who that is? Do you know their ties to Nixon?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Okay, let me tell you about Kendall, other than being the CEO of Pepsi for 21 years.

He was friends with Nixon, (Nixon was corporate lawyer for Pepsi after he lost the election to Kennedy)

He also a friend of the Bushes, and a trustee of the George Bush foundation.

http://www.georgebushfoundation.org/bush/a...ew/Trustees.asp

He is also a CIA asset. For Pepsi and Coke were the eyes and ears of the CIA in Latin America and the Caribean. Specifically for Coke, it was Philip Twombly, Chauncey's CIA boss, who instructed Holt to make the fake credentials for Dallas that day.

He was also the man who told Nixon (when president of the USA) to organize a coup in Chili (which replaced Allende for Pinochet).

He was in Dallas, with Nixon and Twombly, so called for the Pepsi bottling convention. Twombly, who had reserved rooms for Chauncey in the Adoplhus, wrote to Chauncey that "Donald and I will stay with friends for the bottling convention" (probably at the ranch of Clint Murchison)

And of course he is also good friends with Vladimir Putin:

http://newsfromrussia.com/main/2004/06/21/54461.html

I think you can see now that Donald is quite a big shot before and behind the screens. If his friend Twombly, lower in rank, was involved in the plot to kill JFK, and both Nixon and Twombly were staying in Dallas with him, what do you think is the chance that Donald was ignorant?

Same question for Prescott and son, once you know that Prescott was over Tricky Dick. Can you see the trees of the forest fall? Can you see why Chauncey needs to be painted as a "charming conman"?

Wim

[Robert Howard]

Not to steer away the subject, but Joan Crawford was also in Dallas that weekend and attended the Pepsi Cola bottler's convention. Actress Joan Crawford was tied to Pepsi-Cola by her marriage to Alfred N. Steele, Joan's fourth, and last husband, they were married from 1955 to 1959, when, Steele met his untimely death. Alfred Steele had been the President of Pepsi-Cola, and owned, not surprisingly huge sums of stock in the Corporation. Ostensibly, after Steele's death Joan Crawford was elected as a member of the Board of Director's to fill the position formerly held by Steele. Below is a link to a photo of Joan Crawford taken with JFK and others, circa May 1963.

http://www.joancrawf...3maykennedy.htm

A subplot to the Dallas Pepsi-Cola Bottlers Convention involves the Meyers brothers, whom, ostensibly link in several

directions, in one area to Jack Ruby, via Joyce McDonald and to Ero Manufacturing Co., to the Dallas Cabana the night before the assassination, in one area to

an interesting Army Intelligence link in another area. While most people could tell you who James Powell was, Lawrence Meyers son, Ralph was with the Army Security Agency, with a crypto-clearance, who had been stationed in Ankara, Turkey, which relates, at least geographically to the Gary Powers U-2 flight, which was downed over Soviet airspace, and the infamous trial, which Lee Oswald

alluded to in his correspondence.

On October 3, 1963 someone called from Ero Manufacturing Company,

telephone EX 3-2291 to American Machine and Foundry in Olney, Illinois

the phone call lasted four and a half minutes.

WC Volume 25 H 1963

Lawrence V Meyers was born December 16, 1910 in New York City, spent a number of years working in various California cities

after leaving New York as a teenager and settled in the Chicago area, staying there for eight years. There is an indication that he once went by the name

Hyman Victor Meyers, in 1978 he was living in Dallas, having moved there in March 1964 for business purposes. He married in 1936 and had three children.

In 1963, Meyers was a sales manager in the sporting goods Division of Ero Manufacturing Co., at 714 West Monroe St, Chicago, Illinois....

Meyers visited Dallas, Texas at least four times in 1963. Ruby stripper Joyce McDonald met Lawrence Meyers at the Texas State Fair Grounds

before he returned again to Dallas, at the time of the assassination with Jean Aase.

What is interesting about all of this is American Machine and Foundry, also maintained a Dallas branch.

The 1964 Dallas Telephone Directory listed

American Machine and Foundry on page 37

American Machine and Foundry for information call EM 8-6306

subsidiary’s included

AMF Pinspotters, Inc

Sales Dept 5601 Dyer EM 8-6306

AMF Wheel Goods Div.

6484 Bordeaux FL 7-3481

AMF Bakery Machinery

2606 Irving Blvd ME 1-2222

Carter S Burgess was the CEO for AMF around this time

American Machine and Foundry was indicted for anti-trust violations by the Justice Department headed by Robert

Kennedy in July 1962

See DMN 7-31-62

Anti-Trust Charges Levelled on Bowling; Two Firms, Association charged

Seven days later, on August 6, 1962, the Dallas Morning News announced that Moorhead Patterson, 64, had died

of an heart attack, he was listed as the Chairman of the Board of American Machine and Foundry.

The background of American Machine and Foundry

is also interesting, and reveals that sometimes, the devil's in the details.

in the Classified section of the Dallas Morning News for December 13, 1960,

a classified advertisement seeking engineers for employment with American Foundry and Machine read

Engineers Electrical and Mechanical

Building Cribs for Atlas Missiles . . . . .

If you would like to work with giant hardware

that is, nevertheless as precise as a fine watch

you want to consider AMF, the company engaged in the

design, development, production and test of the missile lifting system for the

hardened ATLAS weapon system. Among the more outstanding features

are hydraulic closure door actuators which open and close silo doors

weighing 150,000 pounds each, a crib suspension system that support

and provide shock isolation for a total weight of more than 3 million pounds

and a complete electrical logic and control system for

missile lifting functions up to the point of launching.

We seek engineers to fill positions offering permanent

employment and long-term assignments at Atlas Missile bases.

They will assist in the installation of heavy close tolerance, mechanical,

hydraulic and electrical ground support equipment.

Some field experience would be desirable

There are openings at the following bases

Schilling AFB, Salina, Kansas

Lincoln AFB, Wahee, Nebraska

Altus AFB, Altus, Oklahoma

Walker AFB, Roswell, New Mexico

Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas

Edited December 12, 2010 by Robert Howard

[Robert Howard]

Not to steer away the subject, but Joan Crawford was also in Dallas that weekend and attended the Pepsi Cola bottler's convention. Actress Joan Crawford was tied to Pepsi-Cola by her marriage to Alfred N. Steele, Joan's fourth, and last husband, they were married from 1955 to 1959, when, Steele met his untimely death. Alfred Steele had been the President of Pepsi-Cola, and owned, not surprisingly huge sums of stock in the Corporation. Ostensibly, after Steele's death Joan Crawford was elected as a member of the Board of Director's to fill the position formerly held by Steele. Below is a link to a photo of Joan Crawford taken with JFK and others, circa May 1963.

http://www.joancrawf...3maykennedy.htm

A subplot to the Dallas Pepsi-Cola Bottlers Convention involves the Meyers brothers, whom, ostensibly link in several

directions, in one area to Jack Ruby, via Joyce McDonald and to Ero Manufacturing Co., to the Dallas Cabana the

night before the assassination, in one area to an interesting Army link in another area. While most people could tell

you who James Powell was, Lawrence Meyers son, Ralph was with the Army Security Agency, with a crypto-clearance,

who had been stationed in Ankara, Turkey, which relates, at least geographically to the Gary Powers U-2 flight, which

was downed over Soviet airspace, and the infamous trial, which Lee Oswald alluded to in his correspondence.

On October 3, 1963 someone called from Ero Manufacturing Company,

telephone EX 3-2291 to American Machine and Foundry in Olney, Illinois,

the phone call lasted four and a half minutes.

It is, to the best of my knowledge, not known whether the call was placed by Lawrence Meyers, Earl Ruby

or someone else. This area can be problematic as there was an allegation that Earl Ruby had called or sent a telegram

to Havana, which has never been proven or disproven, again to the best of my knowledge.

WC Volume 25 H 1963

Lawrence V Meyers was born December 16, 1910 in New York City, spent a number of years working in various California cities

after leaving New York as a teenager and settled in the Chicago area, staying there for eight years. There is an indication that he once went by the name

Hyman Victor Meyers, in 1978 he was living in Dallas, having moved there in March 1964 for business purposes. He married in 1936 and had three children.

In 1963, Meyers was a sales manager in the sporting goods Division of Ero Manufacturing Co., at 714 West Monroe St, Chicago, Illinois....

Meyers visited Dallas, Texas at least four times in 1963. Ruby stripper Joyce McDonald met Lawrence Meyers at the Texas State Fair Grounds

before he returned again to Dallas, at the time of the assassination with Jean Aase.

What is interesting about all of this is American Machine and Foundry, also maintained a Dallas branch.

The 1964 Dallas Telephone Directory listed

American Machine and Foundry on page 37

American Machine and Foundry for information call EM 8-6306

subsidiary’s included

AMF Pinspotters, Inc

Sales Dept 5601 Dyer EM 8-6306

AMF Wheel Goods Div.

6484 Bordeaux FL 7-3481

AMF Bakery Machinery

2606 Irving Blvd ME 1-2222

Carter S Burgess was the CEO for AMF around this time

American Machine and Foundry was indicted for anti-trust violations by the Justice Department headed by Robert

Kennedy in July 1962

See DMN 7-31-62

Anti-Trust Charges Levelled on Bowling; Two Firms, Association charged

Seven days later, on August 6, 1962, the Dallas Morning News announced that Moorhead Patterson, 64, had died

of an heart attack, he was listed as the Chairman of the Board of American Machine and Foundry.

The background of American Machine and Foundry

is also interesting, and reveals that sometimes, the devil's in the details.

in the Classified section of the Dallas Morning News for December 13, 1960,

a classified advertisement seeking engineers for employment with American Foundry and Machine read

Engineers Electrical and Mechanical

Building Cribs for Atlas Missiles . . . . .

If you would like to work with giant hardware

that is, nevertheless as precise as a fine watch

you want to consider AMF, the company engaged in the

design, development, production and test of the missile lifting system for the

hardened ATLAS weapon system. Among the more outstanding features

are hydraulic closure door actuators which open and close silo doors

weighing 150,000 pounds each, a crib suspension system that support

and provide shock isolation for a total weight of more than 3 million pounds

and a complete electrical logic and control system for

missile lifting functions up to the point of launching.

We seek engineers to fill positions offering permanent

employment and long-term assignments at Atlas Missile bases.

They will assist in the installation of heavy close tolerance, mechanical,

hydraulic and electrical ground support equipment.

Some field experience would be desirable

There are openings at the following bases

Schilling AFB, Salina, Kansas

Lincoln AFB, Wahee, Nebraska

Altus AFB, Altus, Oklahoma

Walker AFB, Roswell, New Mexico

Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas

[Guest Tom Scully]

Robert, there have been no responses posted to my last two posts on the RFK and the WC Report thread. I don't wonder why. I strongly suspect the joke is on us. For example, RFK couldn't get to the bottom of it, and the current Attorney General, Eric Holder, prosecuted the jury tampering and let obvious target, DeNaples, skate. Now DeNaples is the wealthiest and most corrupting influence in NE Penn. Specter visited that area 274 times....for what? Medico and Gen Dyn, or to meet with and pay tribute to some of the fellas who gave him his marching orders in '64? What are the odds two AGs who, on the surface, took on the mob,

would coincidentally end up being so impotent when the results of their efforts on the surface are later and more deeply probed?

http://www.archive.org/stream/investigationofi32unit/investigationofi32unit_djvu.txt

OCT 2 8 1958

SELECT COMMITTEE ON IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR

OR MANAGEMENT FIELD

JOHN L. McCLELLAN, Arkansas, Chairman

IRVING M. IVES, New York, Vice Chairman

JOHN F. KENNEDY, Massachusetts KARL E. MUNDT, South Dakota

SAM J. ERVIN, Jr., North Carolina BARRY OOLDWATER, Arizona

FRANK CHURCH, Idaho CARL T. CURTIS, Nebraska

Robert F. Kennedy, Chief Counsel

Ruth Young Watt, Chief Clerk

...Osticco, James Anthony (Pittston, Pa.) : At Apalachin meeting. Arrests: liquor

law and conspiracy. Official of Medico Industries, Inc.

....Mr. Kennedy. Vito Genovese ?

Mr. Bufalino. I respectfully decline to answer the question on the

grounds it may tend to incriminate me.

Mr. Kennedy. James A. Osticco ?

Mr. Bufalino. I respectfully decline to answer the question on the

grounds it may tend to incriminate me....

http://pa.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.%2FFDCT%2FMPA%2F1983%2F19830713_0000038.MPA.htm/qx

July 13, 1983

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff

v.

CHARLES F. CORTESE, JAMES DAVID "DAVE" OSTICCO, CHARLES F. CORTESE, SAMUEL LOVECCHIO, Defendants

Eric H. Holder, Jr., Esquire and Richard F. Green, Esquire, U.S. Department of Justice, Public Integrity Section, Criminal Section, Washington, District of Columbia, for Plaintiff. , George E. Clark, Jr., Esq., Scranton, Pennsylvania, for Cortese. , Thomas Colas Carroll, Esq., John Rogers Carroll, Esq., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Osticco. , Philip T. Medico, Jr., Esq., West Pittston, Pennsylvania, Anthony B. Panaway, Esq., Anthony J. Lupas, Esq., Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, for Lovecchio, for Defendant.

The opinion of the court was delivered by: CALDWELL

MEMORANDUM

Id. at 4714-15.

....Defendant Osticco's attack is based largely on quoting from isolated sections of the affidavit. Scrutiny of the affidavit as a whole, however, shows that a finding of probable cause was amply supported through three confidential informants. The first confidential informant [hereinafter CI-1] had worked with the FBI for three years and though information furnished by him had been checked at least ten times it had never proven false. For more than five years, CI-1 had known Osticco and other subjects of the investigation, had personally observed Osticco engaged in selling diamonds and jewelry from his office at Medico Industries, Inc., and had overheard numerous discussions dealing with these sales. Furthermore, he had been advised to be cautious in what he said during phone conversations with defendant and had overheard Osticco give instructions that jewelry purchased from him was not to be worn in public and should be placed in a safety deposit box for several years

06/11/2006

Wrecks to riches

BY: JOHN MURPHY AND DAVE FALCHEK / STAFF WRITERS

....He acknowledges owning, operating or having an interest in more than 200 companies and directly employing about 600 people. He is undoubtedly the largest landowner in Lackawanna County and one of the largest in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

His net worth is reported to be $1.5 billion. True?

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” he says during an exclusive, unprecedented interview with The Times-Tribune.

Many of his holdings are in land, resources and other concerns that fluctuate constantly in value, so it’s difficult to tell exactly how much he may be worth, he explains. But he doesn’t react to the number and doesn’t contest the estimate....

http://www.phillymag.com/articles/poconos_the_last_resort/page2

The landfill made DeNaples even richer. He’s now estimated to be worth $750 million.

The last two U.S. Attorneys who investigated DeNaples ended up providing character references for him to obtain the largest private casino license in the state of Penn. The most recent of these two US Attorneys, Marino, resigned while he was investigating DeNaples and his priest, then went to work for him, and last month, the good people of that district elected Marino as their congressmen.

Dems rush to hype Marino-DeNaples link - Roderick Random - The ...

Jan 30, 2010 ... Mr. DeNaples pleaded no contest more than 30 years ago to a ... The guy who prosecuted him then, attorney Sal Cognetti, vouches for him now. ...

http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/editorials-columns/roderick-random/dems-rush-to-hype-marino-denaples-link-1.582681

The Medico and Crown family members should not have been able to get security clearances and then, successfully bid on defense contracts. Ed Haslam and Judyth should be unknown to us. Garrison should have convicted somebody.

I think the big interest in Jean Aase has always been the idea that David Ferrie by virtue of his phone call to the Delaware Towers building, and Lawrence Meyers connection to Jack Ruby, provided a linkage, as in baseball parlance regarding double plays, Meyers to Ferrie to Ruby.

In Ultimate Sacrifice, Waldron and Hartmann, cite the David Ferrie/Jean Aase issue.

I have never heard a description of the conversation. Anyone else?

I do know that Waldron mentions thatJean Aase seemed relieved that Meyers had died.

The fact that the Delaware Towers were owned by a White Russian seems to make the topic a little more interesting.

Quick! Name a White Russian besides, George DeMohrenschildt, how about Colonel Boris Pash, just trying to make a point.

In case of a memory lapse regarding Jean Aase

On 11/20/63, 9:09 A.M., a call to her phone from Kansas City, MO. Charged to Ero Mfg. Co. Aase went to Dallas 11/21/63 to join Lawrence V. Meyers (of Ero). They were with Jack Ruby that night. 9/24/63 a call to Aase's number in Chicago was charged to Atty. G. Wray Gil's phone in New Orleans, (504) 524-0147. Gil said David Ferrie made the call. In 1992, Peter Whitmey reached her by phone in Minneapolis. Her name is pronounced AH'-SEE...

Jerry Shinley once wrote the following

Here's something else to consider about the call on G. Wray Gill's phone bill made to Chicago on September 24, 1963:

John Davis. Mafia Kingfish. McGraw Hill, 1989 p. 173

"And so, on Monday, November 18, 1963, the last week of the Carlos Marcello trial began. Through the week crucial testimony was heard from three witnesses for the defense.

...And Mrs. Yvonne Klein, a Wilmette, Illinois, building contractor, testified that Carl I. Noll , the chief witness against Marcello,] had swindled $50,000 out of her......"

Here's a description of Wilmette:

http://www.wilmette....l#anchor1032916

The Village of Wilmette is located approximately 16 miles north of downtown Chicago. Wilmette is a progressive community known for its beautiful lakefront, diverse architecture, tree lined streets, well maintained parks and excellent public and private schools. It is a community committed to its history, preserving its brick streets and old fashioned street lights. The Village extends approximately five miles west from Lake Michigan and is approximately one mile wide. Its municipal neighbors include Evanston and Skokie to the south, Glenview to the west and Kenilworth and Northfield to the north.

Since G. Wray Gill was one of Marcello's lawyers at his November, 1963, trial, and since one of the defense witnesses at that trial came from the Chicago-area, how can anyone say that Gill's office had no business in Chicago? Someone must have sent investigators or lawyers up there to develop this witness' story.

Jerry Shinley

Robert: There are other interesting items regarding Aase; when her name name was noticed by researchers, the WC had spelled her name Aise,

Jean Aase is said to have hung out at the Carousel Club while in town that weekend, it might me worth mentioning that of the very first two post assassination incidents

[the first being the non-fatal shooting of Warren Reynolds], the second was the death of Betty McDonald. It is in the realm of possibility that she may have spoke with Aase regarding some knowledge of certain things that made her a liability, and would account for the not-so funny spelling of Aase' name.

As mentioned by Gary Richard Schoener, see A Legacy of Fear

http://spot.acorn.ne...Issue/fear.html

"But the story is not over. Darrell Wayne Garner, the "prime suspect" arrested after the shooting of Reynolds, was released on the strength of an alibi provided by his girlfriend, Nancy Jane Mooney, alias Betty McDonald. Ms. Mooney had worked as a stripper at Jack Ruby's Carousel Club. Eight days after providing an alibi for Garner, Ms. Mooney was herself arrested. The charge was "disturbing the peace." She had allegedly been fighting with her roommate on a street corner, although the roommate was not arrested. Two hours later she was dead, allegedly having hung herself in her jail cell. Several years later Mr. Garner was located by independent investigators and denied shooting Reynolds but admitted knowing a number of the principal figures in the case and gave a good deal of information to independent investigators. He was buried in Dallas on January 24, 1970, allegedly the victim of a heroin overdose, his role in this whole affair still pretty unclear."

Robert: Betty McDonald WAS listed as a suicide but there were cracks in the story; for instance her roommate mentioned her bouts with depression, but no prior history of suicide attempts was proven, and the WC didn't even bother to consider the possibility that there was anything suspicious about her death....

Regarding Bill Kelly's post "Although originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, she [Aase] went to the big city to work and while there, met the traveling businessman Lawrence V. Meyers through the manager of the building, Les Barker. According to Meyers' testimony to the HSCA, Barker had invested in a business scheme with him that didn't work out too well, but they didn't bother to ask what kind of business it was. It was Barker who introduced Meyers to Jean Aase, described as "a dumb but accommodating broad."

On returning to the Cabana, Oliver said she went her own way, to a party in Fort Worth, while Meyers returned to the Pepsi party and Ruby went looking for a "Mr. Martin."

From either checking in with his bartender at the Carousel Club or from the Matre d' at the Cabana, Ruby learned that "Mr. Martin" was looking for him, but when Ruby went to the booth in the Bon Vivant Room where Mr. Martin had been, he missed him.

I believe the reference to Mr Martin is even more of a story, a John or Juan Martin was interviewed by the FBI's James Hosty, an interview consisting of 3 or 4 sentences; leading some to believe "Juan Martin" may not have even existed, but could have been John Martino or even Jack F Martin.

Where matters become even more interesting is that there are several documents at NARA listed as Postponed in Full, regarding 1040 Forms and George Gill, it is difficult to know for absolute sure, but it might be interesting to know that the "G" in G Wray Gill does stand for George.

If one does a search under NARA under Gill, it pulls up some 100 odd hits, including the Postponed in Full docs referenced, David Ferrie's Grievance Hearings regarding his

American Airlines situation are dated circa June 1963......all in all I would say this is a fairly interesting angle.

http://web.archive.org/web/20031209182051/http://home.switchboard.com/JUDYTH

14. myth: that I should have met David Ferrie's most famous friends, such as Perry Russo, and Layton Martens, and Alvin Beoubeauf, and that they should have mentioned me. First of all, I was a female, and as such, I avoided Dave's friends who were almost 100% homosexuals. I particularly avoided being there at night, except on a couple of occasions in late July, when the project became an urgent matter and also a training film was being made, the sun effect almost exhausting Lee and me.

I was usually at Dave Ferrie's apartment during working hours in the early to mid afternoons on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, for about sixteen weeks. Dave was meetable at Charity Hospital on a couple of occasions, and for a couple of lunches, but otherwise, I saw very little of him after May. He was extremely busy, and on weekends when he wasn;t flying somewhere, he was out with his friends.

I was rarely there a few evenings. We processed animals at a peak there in July, and at this time Dave's apartment was both smelly and stifling hot, and was not a popular place for anyone. Dave tended to party elsewhere at night during July in particular. Earlier in the year, in May, I attended a party he held at his cluttered apartment, for which a number of people of all kinds were in attendance. Dave Ferrie's conduct at this party was clearly homosexual, and I was concerned about his legitimacy as a person connected to Dr. Ochsner, who despised homosexuals. Dr. mary Sherman was at this party, and, though I was scheduled to meet her formally in a few days, at this time she refused to speak to me, which also concerned me. Perry Russo might have been at this party, but I have no idea. I was not the only woman there, but i was the youngest. Later, I heard from Lee that when the students got out for the summer, most of them went home, but some of them were partying and sleeping over and trashing a house, which I believe was where Perry Russo was living. I was aware that one of Dave's 'kids' had his mother die of cancer. I now believe this 'kid' to have been Perry Russo, and that it was his house that was trashed because his parents weren't there at the time, but I was never introduced to him.

I was introduced once to Layton Martens, another of Dave's friends. There were also two young Cuban males who were Dave's friends, and who lived apparently just down the street, taking care of our research animals. ...

http://web.archive.org/web/20080120015412/http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20070829_More_in_slots_probe_called_to_grand_jury.html

Posted on Wed, Aug. 29, 2007

More in slots probe called to grand jury

By CHRIS BRENNAN & KITTY CAPARELLA

...D'Elia remains in custody awaiting trial after his indictments last year on federal money-laundering charges and later of allegedly conspiring to murder two witnesses.

Staten is business manager of Local 322 of the International Laborers Union, where his son Sam Jr. is president.

Prior to Staten's grand jury appearance, James Decker, a former Lackawanna County chief clerk, testified for about 30 minutes.

Decker was indicted in 1977 with DeNaples, Joseph Coviello and Charles Morrell for overbilling the federal government for clean-up work after Hurricane Agnes. Decker ignored reporters' questions.

( http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&tbs=nws:1%2Car%3A1&q=quaaludes.+defendant%27s+father%2C+joseph+&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=quaaludes.+defendant%27s+father%2C+joseph+&gs_rfai=&psj=1&fp=46a3aa67685d478a

Suspect Called Gambler .

‎

Reading Eagle - Jul 21, 1979

Louis Coviello, Lackawanna County murder suspect on trial in Berks County ... was found in a shale pit near Scranton, with six bullet wounds in his head. .

... where he said Coviello pur chased 5000 Quaaludes. The defendant's father, Joseph, was also present during the deal, and drove him back to Dunmore,... )

Coviello, a former Lackawanna County employee, is deceased. His son, Louis Coviello, was brought last month from state prison, where he is serving a life term for murder, to testify before the grand jury.

Another witness yesterday identified himself to an official in the hallway as Thomas Joseph, owner of a Mountain Top, Luzerne County, property that was searched during an investigation of D'Elia and associates in 2001. Described as an associate of D'Elia in a 2001 federal affidavit, Joseph has not been charged. *

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Specter_busy_in_Northeastern_Pa__visit_03-20-2010.html

March 20

Specter busy in Northeastern Pa. visit

The Democratic U.S. senator visits Scranton ammunition plant, fundraiser at airport.

BILL O ’ BOYLE boboyle@timesleader.com

PITTSTON TWP. – U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter had a busy day in Northeastern Pennsylvania on Friday.

click image to enlarge

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter shakes hands with Abbie Heller at his fundraiser Friday during a visit to the area.

AIMEE DILGER/THE TIMES LEADER

Select images available for purchase in the

Times Leader Photo Store

He visited employees at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant and then hosted a fundraising event at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.

Specter, 80, is running for a sixth term in the Senate – his first run as a Democrat – and he is facing a strong challenge in the May 18 primary from fellow Democrat U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak.

The Democratic winner will then face off against the Republican candidate – either Pat Toomey or Peg Luksik – in November.

“I believe this is my 274th visit to Northeastern Pennsylvania, and I appreciate the support given me,” Specter said at Wings restaurant at the airport terminal.

Specter, who recently cast his 10,000th vote in the Senate, has delivered millions of federal dollars to the region.

A senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Specter mentioned a few of the projects he has assisted in: Tobyhanna Army Depot, where more than 4,000 are employed; the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Plains Township, which received about $47 million in federal support; and the Wyoming Valley Flood Protection System.

He also cited funding for the cleanup of toxic sites, his vote on the federal stimulus package, stem cell research and civil rights.

“And by sitting on the Appropriations Committee, I will see to it that the federal dollars keep coming to Northeastern Pennsylvania,” he said.

The Scranton plant – owned by General Dynamics – is counting on Specter to do just that. The company gave him a tour Friday and asked the senator for his help in getting $5.3 million for additional equipment to increase production. Specter said he has delivered about $13 million to the plant over the years.

The Scranton plant employs more than 350 people, and General Dynamics employs 1,462 statewide.

Specter credited U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Reps. Paul Kanjorski and Chris Carney for working with him on many projects.

Tom Medico and Scott Meuser co-chaired the event and both said Specter provides the kind of leadership that benefits the state and nation.

Several elected officials attended the event, including state Reps. Jim Wansacz, John Yudichak and Eddie Day Pashinski and Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton.

Specter also had a message for the future.

“We have to get the railroad connector from Scranton to New York,” Specter said. “And new funding for Interstate 81, the Commonwealth Medical College and the wage index needs to be fixed.”

Specter said he is confident heading to the primary and then the general election in November.

About 20 people stood outside with posters and signs of support for Specter and other lawmakers, urging them to vote for the health care plan.

“We’re going to get the job done, I do believe,” he said.

In 1957, the ailing Joseph Barbara, leader of Pittston, PA "family" was important enough to attract a gathering of Mafia dons from the principle eastern cities. Barabara's successor was Russell Bufalino, and the successor to his position, although fronted by the jailed William D'Elia, is actually today, the immensely wealthy, owner of a Pennsylvania governor, its state gaming commission and state Attorney General, a US Attorney and former asst. US Attorneys and local judges, Joseph Denaples.:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capo_di_tutti_capi

Capo di tutti capi or capo dei capi is Italian for "boss of all bosses...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalachin_Meeting

The Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the American Mafia held on November 14, 1957 at the home of mobster Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara in Apalachin, New York.

It was attended by roughly 100 Mafiosi from the United States, Canada and Italy. Expensive cars with license plates from around the country aroused the curiosity of local and state law enforcement, who raided the meeting, causing Mafiosi to flee into the woods and the area surrounding the Barbara estate. Over 60 underworld bosses were detained and indicted..

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.ph...mp;#entry188748

...Photographs show the two arm-in-arm at a barbecue. A note from Father Sica to Mr. Bufalino and his wife was signed "love, Joe." A 1982 letter from Father Sica to former Pennsylvania first lady Ginny Thornburgh refers to Mr. Bufalino as "a friend." A witness recalled the Bufalinos attending Father Sica's ordination....

....An influential figure

DeNaples, 66, is a dominant figure in Scranton — and an influential player in Pennsylvania politics.

He owns landfills, quarries, 35,000 acres, auto-parts and forestry-equipment dealerships, and more — almost 90 businesses. He once headed the board of trustees at the University of Scranton....

..... Louis DeNaples, owner of the Keystone landfill in Dunmore, Lackawanna County, and one of the richest men in northeastern Pennsylvania, Wednesday submitted his application for a stand-alone slots license. The application, which included detailed plans and a required $50 million letter of credit, also included letters of support from Peter Vaira, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and Sal Cognetti Jr., a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District in Scranton..

..Marino, a former Lycoming County district attorney, was appointed in 2002 as U.S. attorney for the middle district, which includes Scranton and Harrisburg.

The Morning Call reported in August 2007 that Marino had provided a reference for Louis DeNaples on DeNaples' gaming application for Mount Airy Casino Resort even as Marino's office was investigating DeNaples.

Marino resigned as U.S. attorney in October 2007 and was subsequently hired by DeNaples as an in-house counsel for non-casino businesses. Marino, 57, of the Williamsport area recently resigned that job to focus on his congressional bid....

The Education Forum > Answering to Were the RFK and JFK ...

I Heard You Paint Houses. The information which follows, is an unredacted version of one of the documents the ANGLETON.DOC was constructed from. ...

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=15637

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-findin...09.story?page=1

DeNaples findings gutted before slots vote, sources say Investigators ordered to remove analysis about casino owner's alleged ties to organized crime

By Matt Birkbeck Of The Morning Call

May 11, 2008....

http://citizensvoice.com/news/break-from-the-bench-1.116253

Break from the bench

By Dave Janoski (Projects Editor)

Published: July 15, 2009

The nephew of reputed mobster William "Big Billy" D'Elia almost always got a break when he appeared before former Judge Michael T. Conahan, his uncle's constant breakfast companion.

Despite David J. Osticco's extensive record for robbery, escape and assault, Conahan approved his requests for work release, home confinement and incarceration in the Luzerne County lockup instead of a tougher state prison.

Last October, just three months before Conahan would find himself before a federal judge on corruption charges, he gave Osticco his biggest break yet. Facing a maximum of 77 years for walking away from work release and going on a robbery spree, Osticco got a sentence that could add as little as 18 months to his current two-to-four-year sentence for two previous robberies.

Conahan, who has been accused of conspiring with D'Elia to fix a defamation verdict against The Citizens' Voice, ignored state sentencing guidelines that should have landed Osticco in jail for at least five to 10 years because of his extensive criminal history, prosecutors say.

State court rules require a judge who deviates from the guidelines to explain his reasoning in open court, according to Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll. The record in the Osticco case, including a transcript of the sentencing hearing, contains no reference to the guidelines....

http://www.timesleader.com/news/hottopics/...01-30-2009.html

January 30, 2009

Conahan resigns from DeNaples bank board

Times Leader staff

Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan resigned from the board of directors of First National Community Bank on Tuesday, one day after he and Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. were charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with accepting more than $2.6 million in kickbacks related to the PA Child Care juvenile detention center in Pittston Township and a similar facility in western Pennsylvania....

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/louis-den...warted-1.599896

Louis DeNaples' attempt to regain bank seat thwarted

By Joe McDonald (Staff Writer)

Published: February 6, 2010

...In closing Mr. DeNaples' case, Judge Vanaskie said he did not intend to meddle with the OCC's regulatory powers.

"In this case, there is indeed persuasive reason to believe that Congress intended to foreclose judicial interference with actions taken by the OCC ... with judicial review coming only after the conclusion of those proceedings and only in the courts of appeals."

Mr. DeNaples' more than 35 years on the bank board ended in 2008 when the testimony he gave two years earlier before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to obtain a gaming license for Mount Airy Casino Resort became the basis of his arrest on perjury charges by the Dauphin County district attorney's office.

The charges were later dropped but the OCC, the agency that regulates national banks, notified Mr. DeNaples he could not return to the board because, it said, he had escaped the charges by entering into a "pretrial diversion agreement." According to OCC rules, bankers cannot hold banking positions if they went through a pretrial program. The OCC warned Mr. DeNaples in a letter dated April 17 that if he returned to the bank's board he and the bank could be fined up to a $1 million a day and he could face up to five years in prison....

...Mr. DeNaples wanted Judge Vanaskie to rule he had not entered into a pretrial diversion and to issue an injunction against the OCC that would stop it from prohibiting Mr. DeNaples from resuming his position on the board.

Judge Vanaskie denied the request, saying the OCC "plainly" has the authority to take the steps it took against Mr. DeNaples "upon a finding that he did indeed enter into a pre-trial diversion or similar program in connection with the resolution of the perjury prosecution."....

http://articles.mcall.com/2008-11-20/news/...ney-fraud-trial

Attorney general pick probed fix of DeNaples trial

By Matt Birkbeck Of The Morning Call | November 20, 2008

The Washington lawyer who reportedly was asked to become the nation's first black attorney general once made headlines in Pennsylvania for prosecuting the man who fixed Louis DeNaples' 1977 fraud trial. Eric Holder, 57, spent the early part of his career with the U.S. Department of Justice heading public corruption cases, and in 1983 successfully prosecuted James Osticco for bribing the husband of a juror in the DeNaples trial. Osticco, a high-ranking member of the Bufalino crime family, paid the husband $1,000, a set of car tires and a pocket watch to persuade his wife to vote for acquittal of DeNaples, who had been charged with fleecing the federal government for cleanup work related to 1972's Hurricane Agnes.

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/02/us/indic...?pagewanted=all

Published: June 2, 1994

...Mr. Holder, who refused requests for an interview this week, has said that he first felt seared by bigotry when he was prosecuting a mob figure from Pennsylvania in 1977. Mr. Holder listened to wiretaps in which the defendant, James D. (Shoes) Osticco, became infuriated when he learned that the man prosecuting him was black and used a racial epithet. "I was shocked," he recently told an interviewer for The Legal Times newspaper in Washington. "I had never been called that to my face." Fair But Tough as a Judge ....

http://www.newsmakingnews.com/torbitt.htm

NOMENCLATURE OF AN ASSASSINATION CABAL

by William Torbitt

I. Permindex and Its Five Subsidiaries

....The Nazis, Mafia and gambling syndicate members were all brought together under the large umbrella of the Defense Industrial Security Command and even the larger joint umbrella of the Defense Intelligence Agency and Division Five of the FBI. Of course, General Joseph Carroll of DIA could not possibly participate in any venture without the approval of the Joint Chiefs of Staff sitting over him in the Pentagon.

The host of munitions and aerospace manufacturing companies with Mafia Members in the leadership positions began to surface during the 1960's and one of such connections surfaced as is shown in the Associated Press Dispatch of October 28,1969, which reads as follows:

A Pennsylvania manufacturing firm linked to the Mafia by a Senate subcommittee has won millions of dollars in defense contracts from the Pentagon. Medico Industries Inc. of Pittston, Pa., currently is working on a $4 million contract to produce parts for rocket warheads used extensively in Vietnam. Since 1966, the firm has received about $12 million in Army, Navy, and Air Force contracts. Pentagon records indicate it has performed well on all its defense work.

Medico Industries' present contracts do not involve classified material. However, a Pentagon spokesman said the firm and its principal officers had a security clearance from Jan. 28, 1968 to June 20, 1968. It was terminated at the company's request - a request which Pentagon sources said came after security officials asked for additionalinformation about its officers.

The company's name has cropped up in the organized crime investigations of a Senate subcommittee headed by Sen. John L. McClellan, D Ark. In 1964, McClellan's subcommittee listed Medico Electric Motor Co., later to become known as Medico Industries, as a principal hangout of Russell A. Bufalino, whom it described as "one of the most ruthless and powerful leaders of the Mafia in the United States."

William Medico, former president and now general manager of Medico Industries, was listed in the same report as among the "criminal associates" of Bufalino.

James A. Osticco, the firm's traffic manager, was present in 1957 when New York State Police broke up the Apalachin Conference - a meeting of top Mafia figures from throughout the United States. The participants also included Bufalino and Vito Genevese, once described as "king of the rackets."

Bufalino has been battling deportation since 1952. According to the McClellan committee's 1964 report, the Sicilian-born Mafia leader has been active in narcotics trafficking, labor racketeering, and dealing in stolen jewels and furs. Last year, Bufalino was charged with transporting stolen television sets across state lines.

Investigators say Bufalino and Medico have been friends since Bufalino moved to Pittston from Buffalo, N.Y. in 1938. A confidential report in the files of state and federal law enforcement officials refers to a company listed in the Senate report as being owned by Bufalino and says: "One of the silent partners in this enterprise is said to be William Medico . . . who is believed to have money invested in a number of places where the subject (Bufalino) acts as front man."

In a telephone interview, Medico said he has no business interests with Bufalino. He said he has known Bufalino all his life.

As for the McClellan committee report that Bufalino frequents the Medico plant, Medico said, "Sure he comes to see us. We're selling his equipment; he's a customer. I can't tell him to get the hell out."

The firm's record of getting government contracts goes back to the 1950's. It has produced such items as maintenance platforms for the Air Force and Navy, rebuilt generators for the Signal Corps, rebuilt machine tools and hydraulic wing jacks for the Army, Navy and Air Force. It also has had contracts from the cities of New York and Detroit.

In 1963 it competed with eight other firms to take over management of a government- ammunition plant in Scranton, Pa., but lost out to a lower bidder.

In 1968 Medico Industries was one of the 166 companies from which the Army sought bids to produce parts for 2.75-inch rocket warheads. Ten firms, including Medico, responded and six got contracts. Medico was not among them.

But in the summer of 1968, the Army announced it needed still more warheads to fill Vietnam requirements. The four unsuccessful bidders on the earlier round were invited to bid again. All four, including Medico, got contracts. The Medico contract, awarded September 19, 1968, called for supply of 510,000 parts for $3,090,600.

Then, in December 1968, Medico was among the producers invited to submit proposals for shifting to production of a different and costlier type 2.75-inch warhead. The firm received a contract on Dec. 31 to supply 380,000 parts at a cost of $4,012,800. That contract is still in effect.

Under Defense Department regulations, a company can not be cleared for work on classified projects until its key personnel are given a National Agency check. This includes a search of FBI name and fingerprint files.

If any derogatory information is found, it is up to the Defense Industrial Security Command at Columbus, Ohio, to determine if it is serious enough to warrant further investigation. If such a determination is made the case is referred to a higher level for review. No such reference was made when Medico's application was processed.

In addition to security checks, all prospective defense contractors also undergo a pre-award review to determine their ability to produce. The personal background of company officials is not a factor in such reviews.

Medico Industries' success in obtaining government contracts has helped it expand from a small electrical company housed in a former mule barn to a large modern plant on the outskirts of Pittston. With a work force of about 400 during peak contract periods, the firm is one of the largest employers in the coal mining area.

William Medico and his four brothers, all officers in the family firm, are often in the news as participants in civic affairs, charity drives and occasionally politics, in the city of 13,000 midway between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion...0,4534940.story

By Matt Birkbeck and Christina Gostomski Of The Morning Call

DeNaples' priest arrested

He's charged with lying about mob ties in investigation of casino owner

January 3, 2008

One of the first calls the Rev. Joseph Sica made after being arrested was to his longtime friend Louis DeNaples: "Don't say anything," DeNaples told him, "We'll take care of this."

That's what a prosecutor said Wednesday as Sica, a Roman Catholic priest, was charged with lying to a Dauphin County grand jury investigating DeNaples over his Mount Airy Casino Resort.

Sica, 52, is accused of lying about his relationship with the late Russell Bufalino, the longtime head of a northeastern Pennsylvania crime family. Sica was released on $20,000 bail after being charged with one count of perjury.

This is "not something one would expect from a priest," First Assistant District Attorney Francis Chardo told the grand jury judge during Sica's arraignment in Harrisburg.

Sica had $1,000 when he was arrested at his Scranton home earlier Wednesday and owns a handgun that was purchased within the past year, Chardo told Judge Todd A. Hoover. Sica, who declared bankruptcy in 1997, also owns a 2007 Jeep that's paid for, Chardo said.

If convicted, Sica could face seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

Sica, DeNaples' spiritual adviser and confidant, regularly appeared with DeNaples at state Gaming Control Board hearings and meetings. He frequently acted as a middleman, shooing reporters away from the wealthy Scranton businessman. The grand jury is investigating whether DeNaples lied about his alleged ties to organized crime to get a slots license.

Richard McGarvey, a gaming board spokesman, said Sica's arrest has no impact on DeNaples' casino license because Sica is not a key casino employee or investor and is not licensed by the gaming board.

"It's not something where that individual has specific connections to the board," McGarvey said.

Kevin Feeley, a Mount Airy spokesman, said Sica's arrest "will not impact the casino. ... Today's news does not change the fact that Louis DeNaples does not have ties to organized crime."

Feeley said DeNaples, 67, and Sica have been friends since childhood and DeNaples was "concerned for his friend. ... Obviously Father Sica and Louis DeNaples are old and close friends ... and they remain friends." Feeley has said DeNaples' family took Sica in as a child and raised him....

Edited December 13, 2010 by Tom Scully