Man, 80, traded crack for sex

How screwed up are we, kiddies? This one is too common to qualify as a SEX IS DEATH story.

An 80-year-old Bloomfield man pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges he traded crack cocaine from his home.

Felix Cocco had been dealing drugs off his back porch for nearly a year when Pittsburgh police first arrested him in November. They seized crack, a digital scale, packaging materials and a pistol during that bust. He was caught dealing again in February.

"I was trying to stay alive, your honor, pay my bills," Cocco said after Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning asked why he had chosen a new profession so late in life.

Defense attorney Martha Bailor said Cocco wanted to remain sexually active after his wife died three years ago, and turned to prostitutes.

"He decided it's cheaper to pay for sex with crack than cash," Bailor told the judge.

Assistant District Attorney Matt Wholey said he would forgo seeking mandatory sentences that would put Cocco in prison for at least seven years if Cocco and Bailor agreed to a six-to-18-month jail term.

Manning ordered a pre-sentence evaluation of Cocco's health at the request of Bailor, who said she was concerned about her client's "vulnerability" in jail.

Manning also put Cocco on house arrest -- during which he will wear an electronic-monitoring bracelet -- until he is sentenced on Oct. 2. (Thanks to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review for the heads up.)