Court hearing for Anthony Lupas postponed

WILKES-BARRE â?? A federal judge has postponed the arraignment scheduled for today of attorney Anthony Lupasâ?? on a revised indictment that alleges he stole more than $6 million from investors.

Lupas, 77, of Plains Township, was scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani to be arraigned on 29 counts of mail fraud and two counts of conspiracy. The judge did not indicate the reason for the postponement or set a new date.

Lupasâ?? attorneys, William Ruzzo and Joseph Blazosek, have questioned if Lupas is competent to stand trial. Mariani recently ordered Lupas to continue to undergo treatment by physician who specializes in geriatric medicine. The physician will issue a report on Lupasâ?? competency within four months.

Prosecutors say Lupas bilked eight investors by falsely portraying money they gave him had been invested in a trust fund. He was initially indicted in March on one count of mail fraud. A grand jury issued a second indictment on July 31 adding the additional charges