HARRISBURG — A priest and a former federal prosecutor who know Louis DeNaples appeared Wednesday at the Dauphin County Courthouse, where the wealthy northeastern Pennsylvania businessman is said to be a focus of an ongoing grand jury probe.

The priest and the prosecutor, who won a felony no-contest plea from DeNaples in 1978, have both lent support to DeNaples over the past two years as he successfully sought a slot-machine license from state regulators.

The Rev. Joe Sica, who was escorted by another man into the courthouse through a rear entrance Wednesday morning, would not respond to a reporter's questions about whether he was there to testify before the grand jury.

Sal Cognetti, the ex-prosecutor who is now in private practice, went into the second-floor conference room where the grand jury was meeting. He would not say if he was called as a witness or was representing a witness.

The grand jury investigation is being conducted in secret, as is customary, and prosecutors will not comment on the nature of the inquiry.

A person familiar with the probe has told The Associated Press that the grand jury is looking into information on DeNaples that grew out of a long state and federal investigation into alleged Scranton-area mobster William D'Elia. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

As part of that investigation, authorities are looking into the accuracy of DeNaples' slots application, in which he told state regulators he had no connections to organized crime, the person said.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board also has received a subpoena from the grand jury, although officials there say they do not believe the agency is a target.

A spokesman for DeNaples declined to comment Wednesday, but has said that DeNaples has no connection to organized crime.

DeNaples plans to open the $412 million Mount Airy Casino Resort in the Pocono Mountains on Oct. 15.