Attorney attempts to clear priest

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- An attorney for a Roman Catholic priest charged in connection with the death of a Pitt football player is trying to have the most serious charge dismissed.
Billy Gaines, 19, a former high school star from Ijamsville, Md., died of severe head injuries in the June 18 fall at the suburban Pittsburgh church. He fell only hours after drinking with the Rev. Henry Krawczyk and teammates, authorities say.
Defense lawyer Robert Stewart on Thursday argued that an involuntary manslaughter charge should be dropped, saying Krawczyk couldn't foresee that supplying Gaines with liquor would result in his death.
Prosecutor Edward J. Borkowski said defendants can be held on the charge without clearly knowing how their actions could result in a victim's death.
Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum prison sentence of 21/2 to five years. Krawczyk is also charged with reckless endangerment and furnishing alcohol to minors.
Krawczyk resigned as pastor of the church. Gaines' family filed a $75 million civil lawsuit alleging that church officials knew that Krawczyk had been accused several times of giving alcohol to minors, but he was not disciplined and remained in a position in which he would have contact with young people.