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	Former Prosecutor Charged with Corrupting Minors By Kristin E. Holmes Philadelphia Inquirer October 30, 2008 http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20081030_Former_prosecutor_charged_with_corrupting_minors.html A former Bucks County prosecutor who resigned one day after police discovered him half-dressed in a parked car with a minor was charged today with endangering the welfare of children and corrupting minors. Anthony Cappuccio, 31, of Hilltown Township, and a 17-year-old boy - both part of a church youth group - were found at about midnight Sept. 5 parked at a shopping center in Quakertown, according to court documents. Cappuccio was a volunteer with a group at First United Methodist Church in Perkasie, and the boy was a member. Cappuccio and the teen had been having a sexual relationship for four months, documents say. The two met when Cappuccio volunteered with the youth group. Cappuccio has admitted the sexual relationship, along with supplying alcohol to youths in the church group and smoking marijuana with them on trips to area concerts, according to court documents. Louis Busico, Cappuccio's attorney, would not say how Cappuccio would plead. "Nothing has been determined," Busico said. "Mr. Cappuccio would like to move on and protect and preserve the privacy of all involved in this case, and we're deciding what's the most effective way to accomplish that goal." The concert trips were not church-related activities and were not sanctioned by the congregation, said the Rev. Blaik Westhoff, pastor of the church. Cappuccio, who worked with the youth group for four years, underwent a criminal background check and a child abuse clearance check when he began working with the group, Westhoff said. Cappuccio, who is married with two children, is charged with three counts each of endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, and furnishing alcohol to minors. He worked as a chief deputy district attorney in the Bucks County District Attorney's Office beginning last October. He had joined the department as an assistant district attorney in 2002, District Attorney Michelle Henry said. Before that, he had worked with the office as an intern while attending Temple University Law School. The case is being handled by the state Attorney General's Office to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, Henry said. Cappuccio was arraigned this morning in Richland Township. He was released on $100,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Nov. 21. Contact staff writer Kristin E. Holmes at 610-313-8211 or kholmes@phillynews.com
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