Brother Antonio Antonucci

November 6, 2006

Federal trial of former priest accused of sexual abuse begins jury selection

BY ERIN L. NISSLEY, STAFF WRITER, Citizen Voice. COM

Jury selection began Monday in a federal sex abuse civil trial involving a former priest and the Diocese of Scranton, with lawyers questioning more than two dozen potential jurors about their feelings toward Catholicism.  

The victim, identified in court filings as “John Doe,” claims the former priest, Albert M. Liberatore Jr., sexually abused him from 1999 to 2002, beginning when the boy was 14.

Liberatore, now 42, was pastor at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Duryea when the abuse occurred. He pleaded guilty in 2005 in Luzerne County and New York to sexually abusing the victim and was sentenced to 10 years probation and defrocked.

The victim filed the federal suit against Liberatore, the diocese, Sacred Heart, retired Bishop James C. Timlin, the Rev. Joseph R. Kopacz, who was the diocesan vicar of priests when the abuse occurred, and Brother Antonio F. Antonucci, an employee at Sacred Heart who may have witnessed interactions between Liberatore and the victim.

The suit claims the diocese and clergymen didn’t heed warnings from several sources that Liberatore was abusing the boy and is asking for monetary damages, including an award for pain and suffering, emotional distress and mental anguish.

The victim’s attorney, Daniel T. Brier, questioned potential jurors Monday on their feelings about the Catholic Church.

“Is anyone worried that an award for (the plaintiff) would affect the Church’s charitable activities?” Brier asked.

Later, he asked, “Anyone feel that cases like these ... might help make Catholic churches safer?”

Diocesan attorney Joseph A. O’Brien also asked potential jurors about their feelings about Catholicism, but also asked about drug and alcohol addiction.

The victim claims in court paperwork the abuse led him to abuse drugs and alcohol. Lawyers on both sides plan to call experts to testify about that subject, as well as the victim’s claims he suffers from depression and post traumatic stress disorder as a result of Liberatore’s abuse.

The trial will continue tomorrow and is slated to last two to three weeks.

enissley@timesshamrock.com

January 26, 2005

Brother Antonio Antonucci, A Roman Catholic monk accused of fondling a 15 year old boy on April 20, 1993, at the monk's home and monastery on Hill Street in Northbridge was acquitted in a jury trial in Uxbridge district court of the charges on May 19, 1994.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Mary Sawicki, currently head of the child abuse unit for Worcester District attorney John Conte. ADA Sawicki argued that Antonucci "spun a web" to entrap the youth, first ingratiating himself with the boy's foster parents, then gaining the teen's trust, all the while waiting for an opportunity to molest him. Brother Antonucci, was defended by James G. Reardon Sr., of Reardon and Reardon.

Brother Antonucci has surfaced again in Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania this time as a defendant in a civil lawsuit alleging sexual abuse.  Named as defendants are Rev. Albert M. Liberatore Jr, Bishop James Timlin, the Rev. Joseph R. Kopacz, Brother Antonio Antonucci and the Diocese of Scranton.

The suit states, in 2004, Liberatore took the victim on a trip to New York, where he allegedly sexually assaulted him in a hotel room. The victim told Antonucci of the assault upon his return, but rather than report the abuse, Antonucci "strongly counseled" the victim not to report the abuse, saying it would ruin Liberatore's life.

Brother Antonucci for awhile ran an informal Worcester-based street ministry, beginning in 1988, to reach youths who didn't attend church. His work earned him the nickname, "The Monk."

November 9, 2005

Civil suit filed against the Rev. Liberatore

By Chris Birk, Times-Shamrock News Writer, The Citizens Voice  

A Scranton priest facing criminal charges of child molestation is now facing the accusations in a civil case filed in federal court.

The Rev. Albert M. Liberatore, charged in New York and Pennsylvania with abusing a former altar boy, was named in a civil complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court on behalf of his alleged victim, now a 19-year-old University of Scranton student.

The complaint also charges a host of diocesan-related entities with failing to protect the victim and having prior knowledge of the Rev. Liberatore's alleged behavior.

Those also named in the suit are the Diocese of Scranton, the Most. Rev. James C. Timlin, former bishop, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Duryea, the Rev. Joseph R. Kopacz, former diocesan vicar of priests, and Brother Antonio F. Antonucci, who worked at Sacred Heart.

Citing a "longstanding practice of the diocese," spokeswoman Maria Orzel declined to comment on the lawsuit. She said she had yet to see a copy.

All requests for diocesan interviews are funneled through Orzel in the communications office.

Currently on diocesan suspension, the Rev. Liberatore is awaiting trial in Luzerne County Court, charged last spring with indecent assault, corruption of minors, endangering the welfare of children and furnishing alcohol to minors.

In mid-July, he was arraigned in New York City on three felony sexual abuse charges - first degree sodomy and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse - stemming from an alleged trip to the city with the student.

The incident allegedly occurred two years after the diocese "received and declined to investigate" the complaints concerning the Rev. Liberatore's inappropriate behavior with (the victim), according to the lawsuit.

All of the charges come from a University of Scranton student, identified only as John Doe, who was an altar boy when he met the Rev. Liberatore, then a parish priest at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church.

Scranton attorney Larry Moran, the Rev. Liberatore's counsel, said he had yet to see the filing.

"I can tell you that Father Liberatore is being vigorously defended in a variety of court actions, and he'll continue to be vigorously defended because he's an innocent man," Moran said.

In the civil suit filed Friday, the victim's attorneys outline a three-year timeline of alleged abuse that began when he was 14. The suit alleges that the Rev. Liberatore purchased extravagant meals and gifts for the boy, who later worked at the church as a sacristan.

The suit also alleges that the Rev. Liberatore plied the boy with alcohol and sexually explicit material, then arranged his work hours to include staying overnight at the Sacred Heart rectory.

From about 2000 to 2002, the boy slept in the Rev. Liberatore's bed as often as twice a week, according to the complaint. On one occasion, the boy awoke to find the priest's hand on his genital area, according to the complaint.

The boy claims to have been sexually abused during a trip to Europe with the Rev. Liberatore in summer 2000, as well in a University of Scranton campus office in May 2002 and in a New York City hotel room shortly after.

In all, the priest is named in four of the complaint's eight counts: assault and battery, violating the Child Abuse Victims' Rights Act, intentional infliction of emotional distress and breach of fiduciary duty.

But the suit also levies charges against the Diocese of Scranton, its former spiritual head and a few other diocesan workers for allegedly failing to take steps, such as bringing the priest before the diocesan review board, in accord with church policy.

The suit claims that Bishop Timlin had received complaints of inappropriate sexual conduct regarding the Rev. Liberatore before he went to Sacred Heart in July 1997, and that the bishop learned of the Sacred Heart sleeping arrangements but failed to fully investigate or notify the boy's parents.

The bishop, according to the complaint, urged the Rev. Liberatore and other priests who learned of the relationship to "put the issues behind them."

The others, Brother Antonio and the Rev. Kopacz, were named in counts ranging from negligence to inflicting emotional distress.

Dec. 09, 2004

Scranton diocese target of lawsuit

Hierarchy showed "willful blindness" to sexual misconduct complaints, the suit claims.

By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER, tmorgan@leader.net

DURYEA - A former altar boy who claims he was molested by the Rev. Albert M. Liberatore Jr. has filed a federal lawsuit against the priest and the Diocese of Scranton.

The suit, filed on behalf of the victim identified as "John Doe," claims former Bishop James Timlin received complaints of inappropriate sexual conduct involving Liberatore as early as 1997. Rather than address them, Timlin showed a "willful blindness" to the allegations, which lead to Liberatore's abuse of the youth, the suit claims.
Named as defendants are Liberatore, Timlin, the Rev. Joseph R. Kopacz, Brother Antonio Antonucci and the Diocese of Scranton.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, outlines many of the same allegations lodged against Liberatore in criminal charges filed against him earlier this year in Luzerne County and New York state. Liberatore was removed from his duties in May; he is awaiting trial in both cases.

Among the allegations are that Liberatore fondled the boy during sleepovers at the church rectory; that he invited the boy to homosexual parties at the rectory and showed him pornographic movies after plying him with alcohol and that he sexually assaulted the alleged victim earlier this year in a hotel in New York.

According to the suit filed by attorney Daniel Brier of Scranton:

In 2000 other priests alerted Timlin and Kopacz, who is in charge of investigating abuse allegations, of concerns they had about Liberatore's sleepovers with the boy. Timlin failed to bring the complaints to a review board established by the diocese to investigate sexual abuse complaints.

In 2004, Liberatore took the victim on a trip to New York, where he allegedly sexually assaulted him in a hotel room. The victim told Antonucci of the assault upon his return, but rather than report the abuse, Antonucci "strongly counseled" the victim not to report the abuse, saying it would ruin Liberatore's life.

The suit alleges Liberatore won the boy's silence by exerting an "overmastering influence" over him by virtue of Liberatore's standing as a priest. He also exploited the boy's vulnerability and his family's devotion to the Catholic faith, the suit says.

The suit seeks unspecified damages for eight counts plus punitive damages. Diocesan spokeswoman Maria Orzel said the diocese does not comment on pending litigation.

May 20, 1994

MONK NOT GUILTY IN ASSAULT CASE

Author: Gary V. Murray; Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER - A Roman Catholic monk accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy was found not guilty yesterday.
"God has vindicated me. I always knew he would," Brother Antonio Antonucci, a Benedictine monk, told a reporter after a Worcester Superior Court jury acquitted him on an indecent assault and battery charge.

Antonucci, 42, was accused of fondling the boy on April 20, 1993, at the monk's home and monastery on Hill Street in Northbridge. Antonucci, who has recently been living at a monastery in Petersham, was not in court when the jury of eight women and four men returned its verdict after about three hours of deliberations. He later apologized to Judge Elizabeth Butler for returning late from lunch.

The Northbridge teen who brought the charge said he was introduced to Antonucci by his foster parents and grew to like and trust the monk over a period of several months.

On the day of the alleged assault, he said, he went to Antonucci's home at his foster mother's request to do some yard work. The boy said he and Antonucci were alone in the house when Antonucci began tickling him, then fondled him.
Antonucci, a large, bearded man described by his lawyer, James G. Reardon Sr., as "bear-like," admitted tickling the boy, but denied fondling him.

Antonucci testified that the boy had become angry with him at various times during the day of the alleged assault and suggested that the teen may have made the accusation because he felt rejected or betrayed by him.
In his closing argument to the jury, Reardon noted that Antonucci, whose work as a monk had brought him in contact with hundreds of youths, had never before been accused of sexual misconduct.

Referring to the Northbridge teen's testimony that he sometimes felt "lost in the numbers' of his large foster family, Reardon suggested that the boy may have been seeking attention by accusing the monk.

"You who are mothers, you who are fathers, have you ever seen a child do something to get attention?" Reardon asked the jurors. Reardon, whose son, James G. Reardon Jr., acted as co-counsel for Antonucci, said the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

"This isn't "Perry Mason' or "L.A. Law.' This is the real, bloody world," Reardon said.
Assistant District Attorney Mary Sawicki argued that Antonucci "spun a web" to entrap the youth, first ingratiating himself with the boy's foster parents, then gaining the teen's trust, all the while waiting for an opportunity to molest him.
The "only part of the plan that Brother Antonucci didn't count on," Sawicki said, was that the boy would have "the guts and courage" to tell his foster parents and the police what had happened to him.

The Rev. John W. Barrett, director of communications for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, could not be reached for comment on Antonucci's acquittal.

May 20, 1994

"FRIAR TUCK' WINS HIS POINT \ BENEDICTINE MONK SIDESTEPS LEGAL

Author: James Dempsey,Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

In courtrooms, clothes have power and meaning. There are the police-like outfits of the court officers, those gate-keepers of the sacred bar; the dark, well-pressed suits of the endlessly verbose lawyers, whose ties are never loosened and whose jackets never come off; and, perched high above the proceedings, the black bogeyman robes of the judge.
Recent years have seen other, less-secular garb in the courtrooms, most noticably the Roman collar of the Catholic clergyman. The rush of accusations of sexual misconduct has touched almost every level in the church hierarchy, including cardinal, bishop, monsignor and priest.

This week in Superior Court yet another such scandal was played out. The central character in the trial was Brother Antonio Antonucci, 42, a Benedictine monk who was accused of sexually molesting a 15-year-old boy last year. In his cowled, almost medieval gray-and-black vestments, bearded, with a rich, powerful voice, the monk was a striking figure. This impression was deepened by the fact that Antonucci, a man of average height, is extremely big, his monkish vestments covering his girth like an "oversized tent," according to his own defense attorney James Reardon. Some courthouse habitues began referring to the proceedings as "the Friar Tuck trial," and there was much speculation as to the monk's exact weight. When Reardon asked him under oath how much he weighed, the clergyman laughed and admitted to "at least 340 pounds at this point." Later he suggested it was closer to 370.

TAKES THE STAND

Antonucci came to Worcester in 1986. He operated a "street ministry," involving himself mostly with teen-agers and their concerns. At the time of the alleged offense he was living alone in a diocese-owned house in Northbridge that served as his monastery. It was in the monastery that the incident occurred, the boy told the court Monday. Then on Wednesday the monk took the stand to deny the charges.

There were points of concurrence in the two stories. They agreed that the monk became good friends with the boy and his family, and that he took the boy out shopping and for treats such as Chinese food and ice cream. They also agreed that the monk and the boy were alone together in the monastery on April 20, 1993, and that there was an incident in which the monk tickled the boy's bare stomach. A good amount of time went to determining exactly what part of the boy's anatomy was tickled.

"You touched his belly button," said Assistant District Attorney Mary Sawicki.
"No, I touched around his belly button," the monk said.

Seeing a monk close to middle age and an unsmiling prosecutor arguing so seriously while using the infantile phrase "belly button" was indeed bizarre.

POINT OF DEPARTURE

With the tickling and the belly button, the two sides' versions of what happened parted company. The boy maintained that the tickling led to his genitals being fondled. The monk said that after tickling the boy, he noticed the boy's oversized pants falling down, and that the incident ended there.

Under cross-examination Antonucci started off hesitantly, stuttering his words and at one point wiping his forehead. But as he survived the initial attacks he seemed to grow more confident. At one point Sawicki was trying to fasten onto a remark in Antonucci's statement to the police in which he explained what happened at the monastery. The boy had claimed not to be ticklish. In Antonucci's statement the monk said he told the boy there were "nerve paths" between the legs and chest cavity that made everyone ticklish. When Sawicki asked Antonucci, with some sarcasm, whether it was true that the genitals were just about in the middle of those two places, the monk took a quick beat and then answered, "As I recall," drawing smiles from the jury.

Through Sawicki's questioning, the monk stood by his story. "He's good," one trial-watcher in the public gallery whispered to another. Antonucci emphasized again and again how the boy seemed angry that the monk wasn't giving him more attention that day. He testified that the boy slammed doors, stormed out of a room, and swore.

Of course, what is hard to fathom is why on earth a Catholic monk would get involved in tickling the bare skin of a 15-year-old boy, especially considering the tidal wave of molestation charges against the clergy over the last few years. Antonucci said the incident began when he reacted to a remark the boy made about Antonucci's mother speaking in Italian too much. The monk poked the boy in the armpit. The boy then claimed he was not ticklish. The monk said everyone was ticklish. The boy lifted his shirt, the monk tickled his bare belly, and the boy giggled. "I won my point," said Antonucci. The whole incident sounded like the kind of thing that might go on between a couple of kids.

WON HIS POINT

Yesterday the jury found Antonucci not guilty of indecent assault and battery. Antonucci had won his point again. The boy and his family walked despondently to the exit. A few moments later Antonucci's family learned of the verdict, and ran to defense attorney Reardon to kiss and hug him. Each side missed seeing the other's emotional reaction. Maybe that was for the best.

During recesses of the trial, there had been a few awkward moments in the hallway between the two groups. At one end of the corridor stood Antonucci, his family, and a couple of black-robed monks from St. Mary's Priory in Petersham who turned up to show their support. A little way off stood the boy and his parents. Occasionally members of each group surreptitiously glanced down the hall. For the most part, though, the groups studiously ignored each other. I was reminded of a divorcing couple, each surrounded by their separate families, the air full of a resentment that was even more intense because of the affection there had once been between them.

May 19, 1994

BENEDICTINE MONK DENIES SEX CHARGE

Author: Gary V. Murray; Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER - A Roman Catholic monk charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy denied the allegation yesterday, suggesting that the youth may have made the accusation because he felt rejected by him.

Antonio Antonucci, a 42-year-old Benedictine monk now living at a monastery in Petersham, denied the youth's claim that Antonucci fondled him last April in the home Antonucci was then living in on Hill Street in Northbridge. Antonucci is on trial in Worcester Superior Court on a charge of indecent assault and battery. Closing arguments in the case are scheduled today.

Antonucci, wearing a black and gray hooded robe, told the jury that the alleged April 20, 1993, sexual assault never occurred and he has gone through "14 months of hell" because of the accusation.

The youth testified that he was assaulted by Antonucci after going to the monk's home and monastery to clean the yard in preparation for a visit by Antonucci's parents. He said the fondling occurred while he and Antonucci were alone in the home and after Antonucci's guests had left.

The boy, whose foster parents were friends of the monk, said Antonucci started out tickling him, then touched his genitals without his consent.

Antonucci admitted tickling the youth, but said he did so "to lighten the moment" and after the boy had insisted he was not ticklish. Antonucci testified the boy had twice become angry with him earlier in the day - once when he asked the teen to turn off the television set and a second time when he suggested that the boy go outside and continue raking leaves.
When he drove the youth home that evening, Antonucci said, the teen gave him a hug and asked what time he intended to pick him up the next day. When he told the youth he would not be able to see him the next day, Antonucci said, the boy became angry and went into his house, slamming the door behind him.

Antonucci also said that during the drive to the boy's house, he told the youth he was aware the teen had been accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and that he could count on him for support. The charge against the youth was later dismissed.

Under cross-examination by Assistant District Attorney Mary Sawicki, Antonucci acknowledged that he did not tell a police officer who questioned him that his accuser had been angry with him at various times on the day the assault was said to have taken place. Antonucci agreed that when Northbridge Police Sgt. Shawn Heney asked him what motivation the youth may have had to lie, he told him he knew of none.

After the lunch recess yesterday, Judge Elizabeth Butler cautioned jurors not to discuss the case among themselves or with others until they begin deliberations. At the request of defense lawyer James G. Reardon Sr., Butler later questioned jurors individually in her chambers.

It was not clear what prompted the questioning.

May 18, 1994

MONK TO TAKE STAND IN ASSAULT TRIAL

Author: Gary V. Murray; Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER - The lawyer for Antonio Antonucci, a Roman Catholic monk charged with indecent assault and battery on a 15-year-old boy, said yesterday that Antonucci will take the witness stand and deny the allegations.

James G. Reardon Sr., Antonucci's lawyer, made his opening statement to a Superior Court jury yesterday after Mary Sawicki, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the Benedictine monk, rested her case.

The Northbridge boy, now 16, testified Monday that Antonucci, 41, fondled him April 20, 1993, at Antonucci's home on Hill Street in Northbridge, which also served as his monastery. The boy said he was introduced to Antonucci by his foster parents and went to the monk's house on the day of the alleged assault to do some yard work.

The teen said he and Antonucci were alone in the house and that Antonucci started tickling him, then began to fondle him. While he was being fondled, the youth said, he was asked by Antonucci whether he minded the touching. The boy said he responded that he did not know, but told Sawicki that he did not consent to the fondling.

The boy also testified that he later gave Antonucci a hug after the monk drove him home.

The teen's foster father testified yesterday that the boy told him about the alleged sexual assault later that night.
Under cross-examination by Reardon, the foster father acknowledged that the boy had been disruptive at home and in school for a period of several months leading up to the date of the alleged assault and that he had been prescribed medication because of his behavior.

TICKLING ADMITTED

Northbridge Police Sgt. Shawn Heney testified that he took statements concerning the alleged assault from the boy and his foster father and that he also questioned Antonucci after advising him of his so-called Miranda rights. Heney said Antonucci admitted tickling the boy, but denied fondling him.

In his opening, Reardon told the jury that Antonucci, with the blessing of the Diocese of Worcester, had established a ministry in Northbridge to assist troubled youths. Reardon said his client, who has appeared in court wearing a black and gray hooded robe, would deny fondling the boy who has brought the charges against him.

Carmella Antonucci, the defendant's mother, was the first defense witness called by Reardon. She said she and her husband, sister and brother-in-law visited Antonucci at his home on the day of the alleged assault.
TESTIMONY TO RESUME

She said she saw the 15-year-old boy raking leaves outside when she arrived and that he later came into the house. At one point, she said, the boy sat on the couch next to Antonucci. When Antonucci suggested that he go back outside and finish his work, she said, the boy left angrily, slamming the door behind him.

Testimony is scheduled to resume this morning.

May 25, 1993

MONK ARRAIGNED ON ASSAULT CHARGE

Author: Elizabeth Trimble; Telegram & Gazette Staff

UXBRIDGE - A Roman Catholic monk accused of molesting a teen-age boy pleaded innocent yesterday morning during his arraignment in Uxbridge District Court.

Brother Antonio Antonucci, 41, a former resident of 88 Hill St., Northbridge, was charged with indecent assault and battery for an incident that allegedly occurred April 20 in Whitinsville.

As Antonucci stood in the courtroom, wearing gray and black robes, dark socks and a pair of sandals, Judge Sarkis Teshoian ordered him to stay away from the youth. Antonucci did not have to post bail and was scheduled for a pretrial conference June 30.

His lawyer, Frank Puccio from the Worcester law firm of Reardon and Reardon, had no comment.
HERMIT MONK

Neither Puccio nor a spokesman for the Diocese of Worcester would say where Antonucci is now living. As a hermit monk, he lived alone at the Hill Street address, rather than in a monastery, according to the Rev. John W. Barrett, director of communications for the Worcester diocese.

"We have asked him not to practice his ministry until he resolves the criminal charges against him," said Monsignor Edmond Tinsley of the Worcester diocese.

Antonucci was responsible for finding his own attorney, Tinsley said.

Most recently, Antonucci has been working out of the Hill Street house to establish a monastery in the area.
While living in Worcester during the late 1980s, Antonucci established a street ministry to reach out to youths, where he earned the nickname, "The Monk."

ESTABLISH MONASTERY

Antonucci has spent four years trying to establish a Benedictine monastery in Worcester County, a proposal that has received the approval of the Tribunal of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester and Bishop Timothy J. Harrington.
Sites have been considered in Warren, North Brookfield, Barre and Ashburnham for what would be the Monastery of the Holy Cross. A Benedictine monastery already exists in Petersham.

In a Telegram & Gazette interview several years ago, Antonucci said: "A monastery is a place of quiet and refreshment, a profoundly joyful and hospitable place of welcome, a place of simplicity and natural beauty, a place for soul-stirring worship and life-changing decisions."

May 22, 1993

MONK SLATED TO FACE MORALS CHARGE

Author: Elizabeth Trimble; Telegram & Gazette Staff

NORTHBRIDGE - Brother Antonio Antonucci, a Roman Catholic monk, is scheduled to face a morals charge Monday in Uxbridge District Court.

Police said Antonucci, 41, a former resident of 88 Hill St., has been ordered to court on a charge of indecent assault and battery against a 14-year-old boy. Sgt. Shawn Heney is the investigating officer.
The alleged offense occurred in Whitinsville April 20, police said. The boy's parents told police the next day, launching a two-day investigation that resulted in the criminal complaint.

If convicted of the charge, Antonucci could face up to five years in prison.

The Rev. John W. Barrett, director of communications for the Worcester Catholic Diocese, said Antonucci no longer lives on Hill Street. He did not reveal Antonucci's whereabouts, but said he believed the man was visiting monasteries.
"I have no information about the court case," Barrett said. "I do know he has strongly denied the charges against him."
Barrett was unsure whether Antonucci would hire his own lawyer or seek help from the diocese. "I have not been briefed," Barrett said.

Barrett said Antonucci was named a hermit about a year ago. "It's like a monk, except they live alone, as opposed to in a community," he explained. "Hermit monks have a tradition that goes back thousands of years to the early days of the church. They take regular religious vows and follow monastic rule."

Barrett said Antonucci for awhile ran an informal Worcester-based street ministry, beginning in 1988, to reach youths who didn't attend church. His work earned him the nickname, "The Monk."

In 1989, Antonucci tried to establish a second Benedictine monastery in Worcester County - one already exists in Petersham. He considered sites in Warren, North Brookfield, Barre and Ashburnham, at an estimated cost of $750,000 to $1 million.

Antonucci is a graduate of Don Bosco Seminary in New Jersey and St. Francis University in Pennsylvania.

July 1, 1993

MONK'S LAWYER SEEKS RECORDS

Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)

UXBRIDGE - A defense lawyer for a Roman Catholic monk accused of molesting a teen-age boy said yesterday that he would file a motion to obtain psychiatric records of the alleged victim.

Brother Antonio Antonucci, 41, formerly of Northbridge, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent assault and battery for an incident that allegedly occurred April 20 in Whitinsville.

Antonucci appeared in Uxbridge District Court yesterday for a scheduled pretrial conference. During a court recess, Attorney Gavin Reardon said he and the prosecutor handling the case agreed to meet in court for another pretrial conference July 14.

Reardon said his motion to obtain counseling records likely would be discussed at the next conference.
"I'm not contending anything at this point. I'm simply doing routine investigation. ... I'm not trying to indicate that there's something there or not," Reardon said of the records.

Reardon said the alleged victim in the case is 15 years old.

According to a spokesman for the Diocese of Worcester, Antonucci was living alone on Hill Street in Northbridge as a hermit monk. But his present address is undisclosed. Antonucci recently was working to establish a monastery in the area.