Parole violation added to charges

A judge said Koliser was likely to commit a crime in the future.
By IAN HILLand DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITERS
YOUNGSTOWN -- Until Tuesday, Martin L. Koliser Jr. had followed the conditions of his parole since his release from the Mansfield Correctional Institution in December, a spokesman for the state department of rehabilitation and correction says.
Police issued a warrant for Koliser's arrest in the shooting of Donell J. Rowe outside the Casaloma Gardens bar on Mahoning Avenue on the city's West Side. Police also charged him with aggravated murder in the shooting death of Patrol Officer Michael Hartzell.
Koliser also has been charged with violating his parole.
"When they bring him in, there will be this new charge," Brian Niceswanger said. "By violating the conditions of his release, it allows [law enforcement] to hold him, once he is caught, while they investigate him." Koliser was arrested Wednesday night in Florida.
Koliser could be forced to serve three years in state prison as a result of the parole violation, Niceswanger said. But if Koliser is convicted of shooting Rowe and/or killing Hartzell, the parole violation matter would probably not be pursued, he said.
If convicted of killing Hartzell, Koliser could face the death penalty.
Prison sentence
Koliser served about 51/2 years of a six-year state prison sentence for felonious assault, with credit for more than three months served in the Columbiana County Jail before being sentenced.
When sentencing Koliser, Judge David Tobin of Columbiana County Common Pleas Court said he thought Koliser "is likely to commit a future crime." Koliser was convicted of stabbing his 22-year-old roommate, Robert Hall, twice in the back of the neck during an argument.
Court transcripts show that Koliser told the judge that he was sorry for his actions. Koliser added, however, that "it takes two to tango."
Since being released in December, Koliser has been required to report to a parole officer and maintain employment. Niceswanger said he could not disclose the name of Koliser's employer because of the department's confidentiality rules.
But documents obtained by The Vindicator show that David Bohla, owner of Youngstown Energy Systems in Canfield, promised to hire Koliser upon his release from prison and to pay him at least $10 an hour, and up to $30 an hour, for an unspecified job with his company.
Promised a job
Bohla wrote Brian J. Macala, Koliser's attorney, on June 12, 2002, that he would provide Koliser with a job, car and home upon his release. The letter was attached to a motion for judicial release filed July 18, 2002, by Macala in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court.
Macala's motion asserted that Koliser was "truly remorseful for the criminal conduct that he committed."
Bohla told The Vindicator that Koliser never took the job when he was released in December 2002 because he was going to attend the New Castle School of Trades. The New Castle, Pa., school didn't respond Wednesday to questions about whether Koliser was a student there.
XVindicator Salem Bureau reporter Norman Leigh contributed to this story.