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A group of protestors, including Herkimer County District Attorney Michael E. Daley, attended the Frankfort Town Board meeting on December 29, 1998, to criticize the actions of Town Supervisor Joseph Kinney. Mr. Kinney sent a letter, dated August 14, 1998, to the State Parole Board, regarding the release and return to Frankfort of convicted killer Benedict (Bennie) X. DiPiazza. In the letter, written on official town stationary, Kinney informed the Parole Board that no official documents, opposing DiPiazza's return to Frankfort, had crossed his desk. A similar letter by Frankfort Mayor Fred Pumilio, dated August 6, 1998, and one by Village Trustees Francis Spatol and William Evans, dated July 15, 1998, were also sent to the Parole Board. Kinney would not reveal who asked him to write the letter. He stated that it took him over a month to compose it and that it did not reflect the Town Board's opinion.
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DiPiazza murder victim - Noreen Jones
Attended IHS 1961 - 1962
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"I've had to live with this for 35 years," said George "Pee Wee" Jones, IHS alumnus and brother of 17 year old Noreen Jones, who was stalked and murdered by DiPiazza, in August of 1964. Mr. Jones presented Kinney a stack of petitions as evidence of the community's opposition to DiPiazza's release. Mrs. Flora Jones, Noreen's 80 year old mother, is sick about the reliving of her family's nightmare, if and when DiPiazza is released.
DiPiazza's lawyers have attached the Kinney letter to their motion for release, as evidence that he can be returned to Frankfort. DiPiazza's attorney, Charles Wilcox of Troy, filed motion papers and included more than 20 reasons why restrictions on his client's return are unwarranted. Wilcox's motion states that a job is waiting for DiPiazza, at Montana's Sports Bar located on Frankfort's North Litchfield Street. Wilcox also argues that DiPiazza has a place to live, with DiPiazza's own father on Pleasant Avenue in Frankfort.
After many unsuccessful attempts, DiPiazza was paroled in February 1996. The inability to find him an appropriate home is keeping DiPiazza incarcerated, according to Parole Division Assistant Director, Tom Grant. DiPiazza is being held at the Groveland Correctional Facility, a medium security prison, 45 miles south of Rochester, NY.
Herkimer County District Attorney Michael Daley said that he and the Jones family were not notified, in advance, of DiPiazza's 1996 Parole hearing. In June of 1996, a public outcry forced the Parole Board to re-investigate his release. The Board ruled that he was not allowed to return to Frankfort to live, when he's released.
Assistant District Attorney John Speer, a cousin of Noreen Jones, told Kinney he fears for his own and his family's safety. District Attorney Michael Daley will speak to the Parole Board, January 8, 1999, and said "Under no circumstances does the man deserve to be released from prison."
Seventeen friends and relatives of DiPiazza's, attended the January 5, 1999 Frankfort Town Board meeting, to speak in support of Bennie DiPiazza's return to Frankfort. Richard Talerico, DiPiazza's cousin, spoke for the family, saying District Attorney Daley "... has created a hysteria...." The Town Board agreed to fax a letter to the Senior Parole Officer, before the January 8th hearing, stating that the board is neutral on the topic of DiPiazza's return to Frankfort.
Both District Attorney Daley and Noreen's brother, George Jones, hope those who have
been silent will now be heard. This can be accomplished through signing a petition, making a phone call or sending mail, to let the Parole Board know your thoughts and feelings regarding the release of Benedict X. DiPiazza.
(Updated January 6, 1999 - compiled from Observer Dispatch Articles - Dec. 10, 30, 31 - 1998, The Evening Telegram Jan. 6 1999)
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