Photo courtesy: Francis Scarcella
SUNBURY – A newspaper reporter in the Valley may be featured on one of television’s most popular news series this weekend. Francis Scarcella, a reporter at The Daily Item, could appear on ’48 Hours’ on CBS Saturday night at 10 p.m. He was a hired consultant and was videotaped over the past year.
CBS brought Scarcella on as a consultant for his detailed reporting on the high-profile murder trial of Anthony ‘Rocco’ Franklin, the Columbia County man who was found guilty of killing his former son-in-law Frank Spencer in October 2018, “It was a neat experience to be part of CBS’ production. The whole thing is a horrific story the way it is, and I did what every reporter should do, which was go out and get both sides and I think that was the catch to them.”
Scarcella says he was first hired by CBS about a year and a half ago. Scarcella first sat with host Peter Van Sant last winter for recording. Some parts were recorded at The Daily Item as well; though he’s not sure what clips will actually air. The murder occurred in July 2012, when Franklin shot and killed Spencer outside his Millville home. Franklin was also found guilty of setting Spencer’s house on fire. Investigators also believe Franklin plotted the murder with his daughter, 53-year-old Maria Sanutti-Spencer, who was Spencer’s ex-husband. Franklin and his daughter were sentenced to life in prison.
Scarcella says it was important for him to get both sides so all facts could be presented, and he hopes viewers will recognize that, “I’m a firm believer in that everyone has a voice, so I gave the participants in this a voice to speak, and a lot of times, you only get one side of the story, so I wanted to get both sides of the story.”
Scarcella says he gives a lot of credit to his editor, Dennis Lyons, “Our editor, Dennis Lyons, is 1000 % supportive of everything, and always has my back and great to work with. Without the leadership of Dennis in the news room, a lot of things don’t get done.” Additionally, he says Joel Wiest, who was Franklin’s attorney for a time, was videotaped and may appear on the episode also.
We have a show preview from CBS posted here.
