Reporter again called to testify For a second time, Matt Birkbeck is to be asked about stories he wrote on Louis DeNaples.

Of all the reporters who have covered Scranton businessman Louis DeNaples, none has been more prolific than Matt Birkbeck of the Morning Call in Allentown.

Since 2004, Birkbeck has written dozens of stories about DeNaples, who opened one of Pennsylvania's first casinos, only to be indicted by a grand jury for allegedly lying to state gaming officials about his associations with two reputed mob bosses and other criminals.

Those charges ultimately were dropped, but Birkbeck has continued to cover the legal and regulatory denouement of the DeNaples case.

Now the reporter finds himself on the verge of becoming an unwilling participant in that aftermath. For the second time, Birkbeck has been subpoenaed to testify in a controversial, long-running inquiry into whether secret information about the DeNaples grand jury was leaked illegally to the media.

On Oct. 8, the reporter received a subpoena to appear Thursday before a special prosecutor ordered by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to investigate any grand jury leaks. The subpoena directs Birkbeck to bring "all notes, memos, e-mails, and any other material" relating to phone calls he had with three law enforcement officials involved in the DeNaples probe.

The demand covers the two years ending Dec. 31, 2008, nearly a year after a Dauphin County grand jury indicted DeNaples on perjury charges.

"I am puzzled as to why the special prosecutor is trying to talk to Matt Birkbeck," David M. Erdman, editor and vice president of the Morning Call, said in an e-mail. "We have published everything Matt has reported on, and nothing we have published violates any grand jury secrecy."

But Ted Chylack, a lawyer at Sprague & Sprague, the firm that represented DeNaples during the grand jury investigation, said it was appropriate to bring in a reporter for questioning.

"My view is that if there is a grand jury leak, there is supposed to be a process of securing the sanctity of that testimony," Chylack said. "If you have someone from law enforcement who is leaking information to a reporter about a grand jury, the reporter is part of a conspiracy to undermine the sanctity of the Grand Jury Act."

Birkbeck declined to comment. Gayle C. Sproul, a media law lawyer representing the Morning Call, said the paper was still evaluating the subpoena and "will make every effort to protect Matt's rights in this situation."