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Hiram man who sent two Portage County men to prison will serve at least five more years
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Friday, Jan 16, 2009
The Ohio Parole Board has denied the release of a convicted murderer whose trial testimony sent two Portage County men to prison for nearly 17 years.
Troy Joseph Busta of Hiram — the only man still in prison for the 1988 murder and attempted rape of Connie Nardi of Randolph Township — was ordered to spend at least five more years behind bars.
Busta, 41, will not be eligible for his next parole hearing until August 2013, state prison spokeswoman JoEllen Culp confirmed Thursday. He is serving his sentence at Chillicothe Correctional Institution.
In March 1989, seven months after Geauga and Portage county authorities began to build their case, Busta pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of murder, escaping the death penalty, then implicated Bob Gondor and Randy Resh in the crime.
Resh and Gondor, lifelong friends, were at the same bar as Busta on the night Nardi last was seen alive. They were convicted and sent to prison after separate tri
als in 1990.
Both men maintained their innocence from the start.
After more than 10 years of appeals by Resh and Gondor, the Ohio Supreme Court vacated their convictions and ordered new trials in a unanimous decision announced Dec. 26, 2006.
A Portage County jury found Resh not guilty of murder and attempted rape after a three-week trial in April 2007. Nine days later, as Gondor and his lawyers were preparing for his new trial, Portage County Prosecutor Victor V. Vigluicci declined to prosecute. The charges — involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping and obstruction of justice — against Gondor were dismissed.
Wrongful-conviction suit
Resh and Gondor have a wrongful-conviction lawsuit pending in Portage County Common Pleas Court, the first legal step in their attempt to win monetary damages from the state.
''He committed this act, he implicated two innocent men and he has held onto that lie now for nearly 21 years,'' Gondor said in a phone interview Thursday.
''Randy and I were both victims of an opportunity presented to a 21-year-old kid,'' he added. ''Troy Busta was told by the authorities: 'Look, you say this and you'll be OK.' Luckily, in our case, the truth won out.''
Busta, who has been in prison since March 3, 1989, was interviewed at length by former Geauga County Sheriff's Lt. David Easthon before he gave a detailed account about the alleged roles of Resh and Gondor.
Originally facing the death penalty on a charge of aggravated murder, Busta's plea bargain resulted in the reduced charge of murder with a sentence of life in prison. Busta had a parole hearing in September, at which time authorities referred him to what is known in the state system as a Central Office Board Review hearing, which was held last Friday, prison officials said.
Parole-board officials noted in their decision blocking Busta's release that the victim in this case ''was an adult female who inmate strangled and sexually assaulted. Inmate has not taken full responsibility for his role in this heinous crime and is not suitable for release at this time.''
The decision went on to say that releasing Busta ''at this juncture would not further the interest of justice or promote the safety and security of society.''
There was no further comment.
Rebuilding lives
Busta was Portage County's star witness at Resh's 2007 retrial. Just as he did in 1989 when he implicated Resh and Gondor, Busta stuck to his story and told the jury that the three had conspired to kill Nardi after hatching a plan over cocaine in the restroom of a Mantua Corners bar on a Sunday night, Aug. 14, 1988.
''We went through all of the court proceedings,'' Resh said, ''and the charges against Bob and myself were dismissed. A jury didn't believe Troy Busta's lies, and now apparently neither does the parole board.''
At Resh's retrial, prosecutors never presented any forensic evidence directly linking him to the scene of the murder, or linking him to Nardi.
The body of Nardi, a 31-year-old mother of two, was found in a pond off Rapids Road in Geauga County on the night after she disappeared. Prosecution of Resh and Gondor later was transferred to Portage County, where investigators believe the slaying occurred.
Prison officials said Busta was not immediately available for comment. In December 2007, he declined a written request by the Beacon Journal for comment.
Resh and Gondor have begun to rebuild their lives.
Gondor, who runs his own home remodeling business, was married to Patricia Vechery in August at the Cape Hatteras lighthouse in North Carolina. They live in Geauga County.
Resh, who has reunited with his ex-wife, Traci Grimm, works at a commercial printing shop in Solon. They live in Cuyahoga County.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
The Ohio Parole Board has denied the release of a convicted murderer whose trial testimony sent two Portage County men to prison for nearly 17 years.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Cleveland, OH
Posted 09:44 AM, 01/16/2009
I am thankful to God that this criminal was thwarted in being released. I am also thankful to all the supporters for letting the parole board know EXACTLY how you felt about having Busta released into our community. He is not wanted or welcomed for the crimes/acts he committed against Connie Nardi, Bob Gondor and Randy Resh.
Cleveland, Oh
Posted 10:28 AM, 01/16/2009
Looks like the only ones buying into Busta's testimony are the original authors.
Time for the show to fold.
Hudson, Oh
Posted 10:39 AM, 01/16/2009
I'm glad to see Troy didn't get parole. If I am not mistaken he was to get life for his role in the murder of Connie, so how is it he was to be on parole in the first place? In addition, he perjured himself by implicating Bob and Randy and getting them incarcerated!! Troy Busta should not be allowed parole for his wrong deeds ever!!! I mean not only did he cost Connie her life, but he cost Bob and Randy a large portion of their lives. Troy was never man enough to own up to what he did, so he does not deserve any freedoms. I don't care how long he's been in prison. Unfortunately the taxpayers have the burden of keeping him behind bars as Troy should have been executed. Here's a good thought........let Troy out of prison when Connie Nardi is alive!!! This punk has no right to ever walk the streets again!!!
Asheville (raised in Akron), NC
Posted 07:18 PM, 01/17/2009
I am not a proponent of the death penalty but since this man was originally charged with a death penalty crime that was reduced BECAUSE of his FALSE testimony, he should spend the rest of his natural life in prison.
