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By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 05:12 p.m. EST, Jan 15, 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 in connection with the 1988 slaying of Connie Nardi of Randolph Township.
Troy Joseph Busta of Hiram — the only man still in prison for the attempted rape and murder of Nardi — was ordered by the parole board 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 today.
In 1989, seven months after Geauga and Portage county authorities began to seriously 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 trials 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 early in April 2007. Nine days later, as Gondor and his lawyers were preparing for his retrial, Portage County Prosecutor Victor V. Vigluicci declined to prosecute Gondor and all charges — involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping and obstruction of justice — against him were dismissed.
Resh and Gondor have filed wrongful conviction lawsuits in Portage County Common Pleas Court, the first legal step in their attempts to win monetary damages from the state.
Busta has been in prison since March 3, 1989, when he was 21. He had a parole hearing last 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 Jan. 9, prison officials said.
In the parole board decision to keep Busta behind bars until at least 2013, parole officials noted that he was convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years to life.
''Victim in this case,'' parole records stated, ''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 records 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.
Busta was Portage County's star witness at Resh's 2007 retrial. Just as he did in 1989 when he first 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.
The body of Nardi, a 31-year-old mother of two, later was found in a pond off Rapids Road in Geauga County.
Prison officials said Busta was not immediately available for comment. In December 2007, he declined a written request by the Beacon Journal for comment.
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 in connection with the 1988 slaying of Connie Nardi of Randolph Township.
Troy Joseph Busta of Hiram — the only man still in prison for the attempted rape and murder of Nardi — was ordered by the parole board 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 today.
In 1989, seven months after Geauga and Portage county authorities began to seriously 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 trials 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 early in April 2007. Nine days later, as Gondor and his lawyers were preparing for his retrial, Portage County Prosecutor Victor V. Vigluicci declined to prosecute Gondor and all charges — involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping and obstruction of justice — against him were dismissed.
Resh and Gondor have filed wrongful conviction lawsuits in Portage County Common Pleas Court, the first legal step in their attempts to win monetary damages from the state.
Busta has been in prison since March 3, 1989, when he was 21. He had a parole hearing last 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 Jan. 9, prison officials said.
In the parole board decision to keep Busta behind bars until at least 2013, parole officials noted that he was convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years to life.
''Victim in this case,'' parole records stated, ''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 records 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.
Busta was Portage County's star witness at Resh's 2007 retrial. Just as he did in 1989 when he first 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.
The body of Nardi, a 31-year-old mother of two, later was found in a pond off Rapids Road in Geauga County.
Prison officials said Busta was not immediately available for comment. In December 2007, he declined a written request by the Beacon Journal for comment.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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WADSWORTH, OH
Posted 07:25 PM, 01/15/2009
should of gotten 'life-without parole'...
Cleveland, OH
Posted 09:54 AM, 01/16/2009
Amen Billy Bob!
