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ANAHEIM, Calif. – Alex Rodriguez has done something remarkable in every game of his charmed October. CC Sabathia is settling for every time he takes the mound. Together, they’ve got the New York Yankees within one win of a long-awaited return to the World Series.

Rodriguez homered in the third straight game of his outstanding postseason, Sabathia pitched eight resilient innings of five-hit ball on short rest, and the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-1 Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the AL championship series.

Rodriguez had three hits and scored three runs, while Melky Cabrera drove in four for the Yankees, who have built a commanding cushion in this once-wild series with power and pitching from their big-name, big-money stars.

“It’s the best I’ve felt all year, no doubt,” said Rodriguez, who is 6 for 16 with three homers and five RBIs in the ALCS. “I certainly feel free and liberated. It’s the happiest I’ve been in a long time.”

Johnny Damon added a late two-run homer for the Yankees, who could sew up their first trip to the World Series in six years with a win in Game 5 on Thursday night at Angel Stadium. New York’s A.J. Burnett faces Angels ace John Lackey.

One day after the Angels handed New York its first playoff loss in an extra-inning thriller, the Yankees calmly asserted control with two early rallies before piling on five runs late — all backed by Sabathia’s steady work on three days’ rest for his second win of the series.

“This team’s good. We have great players, Hall of Fame players,” said Sabathia, who has won three of the Yankees’ seven playoff games. “We’ve got all the confidence in the world.”

With a two-run homer to left field that silenced an excited Anaheim crowd in the fifth, Rodriguez drove in a run in his eighth straight postseason game, tying the major league record. It was his fifth homer in New York’s seven postseason games, matching Reggie Jackson’s iconic 1977 effort for the second-most homers in a single playoff year for the Yankees.

Bernie Williams holds the New York record with six homers in 1996, but that mark seems ripe to be toppled by A-Rod in the first phenomenal postseason for a superstar who mostly sputtered in October until now.

Rodriguez also singled and scored New York’s first run in the fourth, and he doubled and scored on an error in the ninth to cap his do-it-all day.

“It’s obvious he’s brought what he does during the season,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s been as clutch as anybody could have hoped for on their side. He’s a heck of a player. He’s playing his game right now. We’re obviously going to have to do a little better job of making some pitches on him.”

After playing 24 innings over 9 1/2 hours and making a coast-to-coast flight over the previous three days, both teams needed a no-nonsense victory. Sabathia came through for the Yankees, providing rest for New York’s taxed bullpen while further frustrating Los Angeles’ lineup, which is foundering in the playoffs after an outstanding regular season.

“We’ve still got a little ways to go, but I’ve been feeling good,” Sabathia said. “I never had any doubt about me being able to perform on this stage and to pitch well late in October, but it seems like people did. But I feel great. You know, hopefully I can keep it going.”

The Yankees’ $161 million left-hander yielded two walks and struck out five, throwing 101 pitches. After he retired Torii Hunter on a weak grounder to end the eighth, thousands of fans stood up and left Angel Stadium, not sticking around for the final demise of their suddenly punchless club.

Kendry Morales homered for the Angels, whose bats have been mostly awful in the ALCS. The club that had nine .300 hitters in its lineup in mid-August is batting .201 in the series, and the Angels managed just one extra-base hit in Game 4.

“We got beat pretty badly tonight, (but) it was one loss. That’s it,” Scioscia said. “Our guys are confident. There is nobody in that clubhouse that’s down. We know where we have to get to, and there’s a terrific challenge for us.”

Newcomer Scott Kazmir also crumbled in his second straight postseason start for the Angels, allowing six hits and four walks while barely making it through four innings.

After holding the Angels to four hits over eight innings in Game 1, Sabathia pitched on three days’ rest for the first time this season — but the workhorse starter is no stranger to extra assignments. He pitched very well on short rest four times for Milwaukee last season while carrying the Brewers into the playoffs, though he struggled once he got there.

Sabathia also would be in position to pitch Game 7 on four days’ rest if necessary — but unless the Angels awaken, it’s more likely he’ll be fresh for the World Series opener next Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.

New York took the series’ first two games at home, including a 13-inning thriller in Game 2. Los Angeles won 5-4 in 11 innings in Game 3, overcoming a three-run deficit and blowing a late lead before Jeff Mathis‘ winning RBI double.

In Game 4, the Yankees finally ended a team-wide slump with runners in scoring position with Cabrera’s fourth-inning single, which highlighted a three-run burst that began with Rodriguez’s slide home under a tag — and which would have been even bigger if Nick Swisher hadn’t been called out on appeal for leaving third base too early to tag up on Damon’s fly.

Cabrera’s two-run single ended a 3-for-35 skid for New York with runners in scoring position. He later added a two-run double in the ninth.

After Rodriguez homered on reliever Jason Bulger’s second pitch in the fifth, Sabathia already had everything he needed.

Kazmir was a strong playoff performer for Tampa Bay last year with a track record of success against the Yankees, and he excelled for Los Angeles down the stretch this season after his arrival from the Rays. But he struggled in his first postseason start for the Angels in Game 3 of the division series in Boston, and he yielded six hits and four walks in Game 4 of the ALCS.

Working incredibly slowly, the left-hander allowed the Yankees’ first three leadoff hitters to reach base, but kept New York scoreless until the fourth, when Rodriguez led off with a single. After Jorge Posada laced a double just inside the left-field line, Robinson Cano grounded to second with one out, but Rodriguez slid in underneath Howie Kendrick’s high throw to the plate.

Kazmir was chased by slumping Mark Teixeira’s leadoff single in the fifth.

Morales was 3 for 24 in the postseason until his drive to center in the fifth.

NOTES: The Yankees already announced plans earlier in the day to put some World Series tickets on sale online Wednesday. … Kazmir appeared to pick Swisher off second base moments after Cabrera’s RBI single, but umpire Dale Scott ruled him safe.

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LOS ANGELES – Natalie Coughlin won’t be going for the gold on “Dancing with the Stars.”

The Olympic swimmer and her professional partner, Alec Mazo, were eliminated Tuesday from ABC’s popular dancing competition. The pair received a total score of 22 out of 30 from the show’s judges for their paso doble Monday. After viewer votes were combined with the judges’ scores, the 27-year-old Olympic gold medalist was eliminated from the show.

“I guess I didn’t show it, how much I loved it,” said Coughlin, “but I really did, and I’m sorry.”

Before Coughlin’s dismissal, the show’s 16 professional dancers honored the late Michael Jackson with a performance fusing classic ballroom and Latin styles set to “I Want You Back,” “Man In The Mirror” and “Thriller.” Jackson family members including Katherine, La Toya and Jermaine Jackson watched the tribute from the front row in the ballroom.

“He’s just an inspiration to all of us,” said professional dancer Mark Ballas.

The nine remaining celebrity contestants competing for the “Dancing with the Stars” mirrorball trophy are entertainer Donny Osmond, actress Melissa Joan Hart, model Joanna Krupa, professional snowboarder Louie Vito, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin, singers Mya and Aaron Carter and TV personalities Mark Dacascos and Kelly Osbourne.

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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Almost six years after a wildfire destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in Southern California, prosecutors say they have enough evidence to charge a prison inmate with arson and murder in connection with the 2003 blaze.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos said Tuesday that a special criminal grand jury indicted Rickie Lee Fowler, a 28-year-old prison inmate, on arson and murder charges in connection to the wildfire that has been linked to five heart attack deaths.

Fowler is serving time in state prison for burglary. He was first interviewed in connection with fire in February 2004, based on a telephone tip, but there was not enough evidence to charge him, San Bernardino County Deputy District Attorney Vic Stull said.

The investigation began to gain steam in February 2008, and new evidence obtained as recently as three weeks ago allowed prosecutors to identify Fowler as a suspect, Stull said.

He faces five counts of murder, one count of aggravated arson and one count of arson of an inhabited structure. The statute of limitations on arson would have run out on Oct. 25.

The notorious Old Fire erupted in the Waterman Canyon area of the San Bernardino Mountains above the city of San Bernardino and eventually swept across 90,000 acres, or about 140 square miles.

Several witnesses reported seeing a passenger in a white van tossing burning objects into dry brush. In late 2004, authorities said they were focusing on a young man they believed may have been the arsonist and were trying to identify a second man but did not have enough evidence to make arrests.

Another man, Martin Valdez Jr., was also believed to be a suspect but he was shot and killed in Muscoy in 2006.

Stull said prosecutors were not sure who actually threw a road flare that started the blaze but are confident they have enough evidence.

Lisa McDermith, the daughter-in-law of one of the victims, James McDermith, said the retired accountant had a heart attack while driving to retrieve a trailer he planned to use to evacuate from his house.

“We’re happy for this, not only for us but for all the families who lost a family member and who lost homes,” she said. “He caused a lot of grief to so many people. There will finally be some closure.”

In addition to McDermith, the individuals whose deaths are being prosecuted are Charles Howard Cunningham, 93; retired fire captain Chad Leo Williams, 70; Robert Norman Taylor, 54; and Ralph Eugene McWilliams, 67.

Although authorities initially linked six fatal heart attacks to the distress of the evacuations, Stull said in one of those cases the victim’s widow felt that the attack was not caused by the fire.

The murder charges include the special circumstance of murder during the commission of arson, he said. Prosecutors have not determined whether they would seek the death penalty if Fowler is convicted, Stull said.

District attorney spokeswoman Susan Mickey didn’t know if Fowler had a lawyer. His arraignment is expected within two weeks, after he is transferred from a prison in Lancaster.

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SEOUL, South Korea – Top American defense officials maintained a tough stand Wednesday against North Korea, calling its threat more lethal than ever even as an envoy from the communist regime was headed to the United States to discuss nuclear programs.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates accused North Korea of attempting widespread nuclear proliferation. “Everything they make they seem to be willing to sell,” Gates told a group of American and South Korean troops at the U.S. military headquarters in central Seoul.

“We do not today — nor will we ever — accept a North Korea with nuclear weapons,” he said.

Pyongyang’s peril “has become even more lethal and destabilizing,” Gates said.

In a separate interview in Seoul, the chief of the U.S. Pacific Command that oversees the region’s military mission said North Korea “needs to be watched very closely.” But Adm. Robert F. Willard also stressed diplomacy’s role, calling North Korea “a whole of government problem.”

The comments came amid some signs of possible softening by North Korea after years of nuclear tests and a barrage of ballistic missile test-fires, most recently last week.

The reclusive regime in recent months has reached out to Seoul and Washington, freeing detained American and South Korean citizens. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il said earlier this month that his country could rejoin six-party nuclear talks, depending on the status of direct talks with the U.S.

North Korea’s No. 2 nuclear negotiator, Ri Gun, was in Beijing on Wednesday on his way to the U.S., where he is scheduled to attend a security forum next week in California and a seminar in New York. Ri also is reportedly expected to meet with the chief U.S. nuclear negotiator, Sung Kim, to set up bilateral talks.

The North is believed to have enough weapons-grade plutonium for at least half a dozen atomic bombs, and has sought to advance its long-range missile capabilities.

Efforts to end its nuclear programs have often stalled because Pyongyang has backtracked on disarmament pacts. North Korea pulled out of six-nation nuclear disarmament talks in April before conducting an atomic test blast in May and a series of ballistic missile tests.

Some analysts say Pyongyang has no intention of giving up nuclear programs and could seek recognition as a nuclear state, like India. Analyst Koh Yu-hwan at Seoul’s Dongguk University said the North’s mixed moods of conciliation and some provocations are aimed at bolstering its negotiating position ahead of direct talks with the U.S., with a warning that it could again raise tensions at any time.

North Korea has long sought direct negotiations with the U.S. In turn, the U.S. has said it will engage in direct talks if assured that Pyongyang ends its boycott of six-nation disarmament discussions involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the U.S.

About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea to help defend against the North. Gates said the U.S. is firmly committed to help South Korea deter the North’s threats “with the full range of military might, from the nuclear umbrella to conventional strike and missile defense capabilities.”

Gates was in Seoul for two days of talks with South Korean officials after a stop in Tokyo. He was accompanied by Willard, who took command just two days earlier.

“A nuclear-armed North Korea, and a North Korea that chooses to provoke, and a North Korea that may be on the brink of succession — all of those things make North Korea certainly worthy of our attention,” Willard said.

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WASHINGTON – A government watchdog said the $700 billion bailout for the financial industry played a major role in rescuing the economy over the last year but also engendered anger and distrust among Americans because of secrecy and confusion about the way the program was handled.

The mixed and blunt assessment by Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general in charge of oversight for the bailout fund, appears in a quarterly report scheduled for release Wednesday. Barofsky said the Troubled Asset Relief Program has come at great cost to taxpayers, to the integrity of the financial system and to the public’s perception of the federal government.

“Despite the aspects of TARP that could reasonably be viewed as a substantial success,” he wrote, “Treasury’s actions in this regard have contributed to damage the credibility of the program and of the government itself, and the anger, cynicism and distrust created must be chalked up as one of the substantial, albeit unnecessary, costs of TARP.”

Barofsky said public suspicion was fed by Treasury’s decision not to require banks to report how they used their rescue money and its “less-than-accurate” statements describing the financial condition of nine large banks that benefited from large infusions of aid. The TARP program began under the administration of President George W. Bush and has expanded under President Barack Obama.

The program has come under criticism in Congress from across the political spectrum. Liberals maintain the program needs to shift its focus from big financial firms to small businesses and homeowners. Conservatives insist the program has been an unnecessary intrusion into the financial sector and should end swiftly.

On Wednesday, Obama is expected to announce a new TARP program to assist community banks. The American Bankers’ Association has asked for $5 billion in rescue-fund money to help small banks extend more loans.

In his report, Barofsky credited the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department for adopting some of his accountability recommendations over the past several months. But he said several of his agency’s proposals for greater transparency have gone unheeded.

The report describes a patchwork of initiatives carried out under the TARP umbrella — some designed to assist the biggest of Wall Street institutions, others to bail out the struggling auto industry and yet others to help homeowners struggling to stave off foreclosure.

Even within those programs, Barofsky found inconsistent attempts to hold recipients of the bailout accountable to taxpayers.

For instance, General Motors, which received $50 billion in government assistance, has an internal guideline that generally prohibits employees from flying in private jets for business travel. Bank of America, which received $25 billion, has the opposite policy, encouraging senior management to use corporate aircraft “for safety and efficiency purposes,” the report states.

Bank of America, which reported losses of more than $2.2 billion in the third quarter, had nebulous guidelines for luxury expenses. “Reasonable expenditures occur when the costs of entertainment or events do not exceed the expected benefit to the corporation,” according to the company’s four-page policy.

Chrysler’s policy, on the other hand, runs for 15 pages and lists specific prohibited expenses, including spa services, country club dues, tuxedos and shoe shines.

Overall, Barofsky said the cost of preventing a financial collapse fell into three categories:

_Taxpayers: The government has spent more than $454 billion through TARP programs. Forty-seven TARP recipients have paid back nearly $73 billion. That means more than $317 billion remains available. The program is set to end Dec. 31, but the administration could seek an extension until next October. Despite the repayments several of the program are not expected to yield returns to the taxpayer, including a $50 billion mortgage modification plan and some of the money injected into auto companies.

_The integrity of the industry: Many firms considered “too big to fail” last year, and thus in need of government assistance, are even bigger now. “Absent meaningful regulatory reform, TARP runs the risk of merely reanimating markets that had collapsed under the weight of reckless behavior,” the report sates.

_The credibility of the government: Barofsky wrote that public antipathy for the bailout is fueled by “the lack of transparency in the program.” Over the course of the year, Barofsky has called on the Treasury Department to seek more information from banks on how they use their taxpayer assistance.

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PARACHINAR, Pakistan – Pakistani soldiers fighting inside the hometown of the Pakistani Taliban leader gained ground Wednesday as they pressed ahead with a major offensive on a militant sanctuary close to the Afghan border, intelligence officials said.

The advances came as intelligence officials said suspected U.S. missiles killed three alleged militants in a neighboring region where the army has tried to convince other insurgent factions to stay neutral during the military assault in South Waziristan.

The five-day-old offensive is considered a critical test of the nuclear-armed country’s often-criticized campaign against Islamist extremists blamed for soaring attacks at home and on Western forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

Troops had secured parts of Kotkai town and destroyed the home of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud by Wednedsay, but battles were ongoing, two officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

On Tuesday, twin suicide bombings killed six people at Islamabad’s International Islamic University in apparent retaliation for the offensive. All educational institutions in the country were closed Wednesday, showing the militants’ ability to disrupt daily life.

The military is advancing on three fronts in South Waziristan. The fight for Kotkai is symbolically important because Hakimullah Mehsud and a top deputy, Qari Hussain, hail from there. It also lies on the way to another the militant stronghold of Sararogha.

Army spokesmen were not available for comment on the fighting in the town. On Tuesday, militant fighters said they had repelled an army assault on it, and a military spokesman denied a media report that soldiers had retaken it.

The missile strikes Wednesday hit Spalaga, a village in North Waziristan tribal region. Two other intelligence officials said three suspected insurgents were killed, but that the number could rise. They declined to be named because they also were not authorized to speak to media on the record.

The U.S. has launched scores of missiles in South and North Waziristan over the past year, including one that killed former Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in August.

The latest strike, however, comes at a sensitive time because the army is counting on insurgent groups in North Waziristan staying neutral as it fights Mehsud’s faction in South Waziristan. The missile strikes could stir anger among those militants, straining the deals with the army.

Pakistan routinely condemns the missile strikes as violations of its sovereignty, but many observers suspect the two countries have a deal allowing the drone-fired attacks.

It is nearly impossible to independently verify information coming from South Waziristan because the army has closed off all roads to the region. Analysts say both sides have exaggerated successes and downplayed loses in the past.

Chief military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas cautioned that the fight in South Waziristan could be long.

“This is a mountainous terrain and therefore the operations tend to be slow,” Abbas told the AP in an interview Tuesday. The militants “are very tough fighters. They know the area, terrain. And they are very determined to fight.”

Abbas said the military believed that Hakimullah Mehsud and Qari Hussain remain in the region under fire, directing the militants’ defenses. That information is based on local informants and communications intercepts, Abbas said.

The army claims to have killed some 90 militants and to have lost 13 soldiers in the offensive so far.

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The arrivals-line carpet leading into Barker Hangar was yellow — appropriate, given the night’s honorees: Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge and Maggie Simpson, all on hand to celebrate 20 years of “The Simpsons.” Their series is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and it recently surpassed “Gunsmoke” as the longest-running American primetime scripted entertainment program.

“You know, it’s really weird,” noted Simpsons creator and series executive producer Matt Groening. “I mean, I thought the show would be successful. But the fact that we’re still standing here some 20 years later and talking about it is very peculiar. But very happy.”

Brace yourself for another “Simpsons” milestone, as matriarch Marge Simpson appears on the cover of November’s Playboy, as well as in a three-page spread for the adult magazine.

“Well, I talked to Marge today,” said Al Jean, “The Simpsons” executive producer. “She’s a little embarrassed. She wanted people to know the photo is Photoshopped. It’s really the body of Wilma Flintstone.”

The carpet was crammed with guest stars who’ve lent their voices to “Simpsons” episodes, including Robert Englund, the actor best known for playing Freddy Kreuger in the “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies, and one who appears eager to see more of Mrs. Simpson. “Marge is hot — big hair and all,” he confessed. “And I’ve loved (actor) Julie Kavner (who supplies the voice of Marge) since ‘Rhoda.’ So, I’m glad some manifestation of her is getting to finally show it off.”

“It is hilarious,” added “Star Trek” actor George Takei. “(The Playboy spread) is the kind of thing that makes ‘The Simpsons’ a perennial. It’s going to live long and prosper,” he continued, laughing.

Some reporters along the yellow carpet couldn’t resist drawing comparisons between “The Simpsons” precocious Bart Simpson and the so-called “Balloon Boy,” a 6-year-old who was said to be hiding in the rafters of his family’s garage following reports Thursday that he was flying over the plains of Colorado in a giant, homemade helium balloon.

Authorities said Sunday that the story was a hoax concocted to land a reality television show, and the boy’s parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene, will likely face felony charges.

“Such a perfect ‘Simpsons’ episode,” commented documentarian Morgan Spurlock, who serves as director of “The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special in 3-D on Ice,” which will air in January. “All of that playing out in real time was so unbelievable. But it’s America. It was American news at its best. We run with something without having all the facts. We turn it into a big lead story. That’s what it’s all about.”

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A high-profile sex abuse case that was set to start Monday against Delaware’s Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and a former priest will be delayed after the church filed for federal bankruptcy protection.

The bankruptcy filing late Sunday automatically delays the case in Kent County Superior Court, the first of eight consecutive abuse trials scheduled in Delaware.

"This is a painful decision, one that I had hoped and prayed I would never have to make," said the Rev. W. Francis Malooly, the bishop of the diocese, on the diocese’s Web site.

Malooly said the decision was made "after careful consideration and after consultation with my close advisers and counselors" and that he believed "we have no other choice." He said "filing for Chapter 11 offers the best opportunity, given finite resources, to provide the fairest possible treatment of all victims of sexual abuse by priests of our Diocese."

"Our hope is that Chapter 11 proceedings will enable us to fairly compensate all victims through a single process established by the Bankruptcy Court," Malooly said.

The diocese covers Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland and serves about 230,000 Catholics.

Thomas Neuberger, an attorney representing 88 alleged victims, described the bankruptcy filing as a "desperate effort to hide the truth from the public and conceal the thousands of pages of scandalous documents" from being made public in court.

"This filing is the latest, sad chapter in the diocese’s decades long ‘cover-up’ of these despicable crimes, to maintain the secrecy surrounding its responsibility and complicity in the sexual abuse of hundreds of Catholic children," Neuberger said in a statement.

The bankruptcy filing lists the diocese’s assets as being between $50 million and $100 million but said its estimated debt is between $100 million and $500 million. Lawsuit plaintiffs as well as banks and pensions were listed as creditors.

Monday’s case would have been the first to come to trial under a Delaware law that created a two-year "lookback" window that allowed claims of abuse to be brought regardless of whether the statute of limitations had expired. More than 100 lawsuits were filed before the period ended this summer, with four being settled.

Civil liability is the only recourse for victims of abuse that happened long ago because the U.S. Supreme Court has said states cannot change the statute of limitations for criminal cases.

Neuberger said the diocese’s action may mean some sick and aging victims — some who claim they were abused when they were as young as 8 — could die before getting their day in court.

Attorneys negotiated throughout Sunday trying to reach a settlement, but couldn’t.

The Diocese of Wilmington is the seventh U.S. Catholic diocese to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since the church abuse scandal erupted seven years ago in the Archdiocese of Boston. Dioceses in Davenport, Iowa; Fairbanks, Alaska; Portland, Ore.; San Diego; Spokane, Wash., and Tucson, Ariz., also sought bankruptcy protection. The San Diego case was dismissed.

Neuberger said he would make court filings in Delaware to "meet this fraudulent tactic with the full and immediate force of the law." He also vowed to seek out all assets of the diocese and its parishes.

More than 20 Delaware plaintiffs have filed lawsuits against former priest Francis DeLuca. DeLuca served for 35 years but was defrocked last summer after having been jailed in 2007 in New York for repeatedly molesting his grandnephew.

Barbara Blaine, president of the advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the church has all the resources it needs to take care of victims, and she described the bankruptcy filing as a way of hiding the truth.

"The bottom line is that the bishop doesn’t want the truth to be exposed," Blaine said.

The diocese has paid more than $6.2 million since 2002 to settle sexual abuse lawsuits. Like others around the country, it also has paid settlements to alleged victims who did not file lawsuits.

An annual report filed earlier this year by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that the church has paid more than $2.6 billion in settlements and related expenses since 1950.

___

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