YOUNGSTOWN Koliser's mother blamed parole

Koliser's mother called a radio show to complain about her son's parole officer.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The complaint letter Martin J. Koliser's mother wrote to the Adult Parole Authority was received two weeks after he shot and killed a police officer, APA spokesman says.
Sara Simila, APA field services superintendent in Columbus, said Wednesday that the mother's letter was received May 14 at the central office. No letters were received before that date, she said.
The APA is a division of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Koliser, 30, of Boardman, was on parole when he ambushed Patrolman Michael T. Hartzell, 26, in his cruiser downtown and wounded Donell J. Rowe outside a West Side bar about two hours earlier April 29.
Koliser, who fled to Florida after the shootings and was arrested by police there, has been given the death penalty.
Koliser's mother, who is remarried, used the name Rose Koliser when she called WKBN-570 radio this week. She complained that his parole officer had not done her job.
Simila said she could not discuss the contents of the letter.
Koliser, who served nearly six years for stabbing a roommate in Salem, was paroled Dec. 12, 2002. His parole was to last three years. He had his first contact that month with his parole officer, Simila said.
Over the next four months, he had more than the required number of contacts with the officer, an average of two each month, she said.
How it's done
Typically, parolees must have one contact per month with their parole officer. The contact can be at the APA office, at their residence or by phone, or the parole officer can check with a parolee's family member, Simila said.
Koliser's parole officer's checks included visits to his "paroled place of residence," but Simila declined to give the address.
Simila said that in March, the parole officer twice talked to a Koliser family member, but she didn't say whom.
Koliser was seen twice by his parole officer in early April and took a drug test on the second visit. The result -- he tested positive -- wasn't back for two weeks, Simila said.
There wasn't enough time, after the result was back, to impose a sanction before the APA received information about the police officer's being shot, she said.
Koliser's file shows that he was employed by a manufacturing company in January but quit in February to attend the New Castle School of Trades in Pulaski Township, Pa., Simila said.
An anonymous caller told the APA that Koliser may not be attending NCST, but the file shows that no verification of employment or trade school was done after the end of March, Simila said.
"Nothing in the file tells me that checks were made in April," Simila said.
Police have described Koliser as a predator and an ex-con without a lot of options who sold drugs to support himself. Despite no visible means of support, he had an apartment in Boardman.
meade@vindy.com