Rally Seeking Justice for Dawn Pasela set for Wednesday, August 30, 4:30 – 6 PM at Parma City Hall, 6611 Ridge Road, Parma, OH 44129

  • New evidence confirms foul play in death of Dawn Pasela
  • Parma Police Caught Lying to Family, Ignoring Police Procedures, refusing to follow investigative leads outlined by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff and Preventing other law enforcement agencies from investigating Dawn’s death

For Additional Information, Contact: Tony Viola 330-998-329 * [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CLEVELAND, OHIO – August 2, 2023 – FreeTonyViola.com announced today that a rally to demand justice and accountability for those responsible for the death of whistleblower Dawn Pasela will be held Wednesday, August 30, 2023 at 4:30 – 6:00 PM in front of Parma City Hall.  The rally follows the discovery of new evidence confirming Dawn was the victim of foul play and the City of Parma’s refusal to investigate or allow other law enforcement agencies to investigate Dawn’s death.

BACKGROUND

Whistleblower Dawn Pasela, 26, was scheduled to testify as a defense witness for criminal defendant Tony Viola about misconduct by prosecutors Mark Bennett and Dan Kasaris in his case and 1,200 criminal cases prosecuted by a multi-jurisdictional Task Force. Viola was charged with stealing $46 million in what prosecutors called “the Nation’s Largest Mortgage Fraud Scheme,” but Viola maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.  Dawn Pasela, the Task Force’s Office Manager, was aware that Bennett and Kasaris suppressed evidence proving the innocence of Viola and hundreds of defendants and that Kasaris was having an affair with government witness Kathryn Clover.  During Viola’s second trial, Bennett and Kasaris threatened Dawn with prosecution and prison for assisting Viola and ordered her to leave town.  She did not appear in court as scheduled, but was found dead shortly thereafter in her apartment in Parma, Ohio under suspicious circumstances.  Specifically, three cell phones were found in her apartment, the heat was set very high to accelerate body decomposition and her computer was missing.  According to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, the Parma Police failed to collect the cell phones or any evidence, canvass the area around Dawn’s apartment, interview witnesses, obtain surveillance video, or coordinate any investigation with the Medical Examiner’s Office.  That agency found an excessively high blood alcohol level of .59, but only performed a cursory autopsy and did not gather any further evidence, later concluding that Dawn’s death was accidental.

In 2022, Task Force Chairman Donald Cleland stated under oath that he directed Ms. Pasela to remove hard drives from the Task Force that contained evidence in hundreds or state and federal criminal cases and bring that evidence to her apartment -- bolstering the contention that investigating the disappearance of Dawn’s computer is central to this case.  Other newly discovered evidence includes confirmation that an outbound call on a cell phone in Dawn’s apartment was made well after the stated time of her death and documents establishing that the Parma Police didn’t call an ambulance to Dawn’s apartment but a mortuary service.  In addition, multiple witnesses have come forward stating they have heard Kasaris family members discussing Dawn’s “murder.”  Despite new evidence and a series of investigative recommendations by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff, the city refuses to conduct any investigation. In 2023, after an exhaustive review of evidence, Uncovered.com, the nation’s largest database of cold cases, accepted Dawn’s case and is providing investigative resources and assistance, details at https://uncovered.com/cases/dawn-pasela.

Thanks to evidence provided by Dawn, Viola was exonerated at a subsequent criminal trial but still spent a decade in prison.  Viola is currently represented by Yale University Law School and Cleveland-based Attorney Kimberly Kendall Corral.  Yale and Ms. Corral are pursuing litigation in which former federal prosecutor Mark Bennett concealed an affair between Assistant Ohio Attorney General Dan Kasaris and government witness Kathryn Clover, knowingly used Clover’s perjured testimony in criminal cases, destroyed evidence, “lost” computers seized in televised raids, listened to tapes made by Dawn Pasela but shifted those tapes and exculpatory evidence before Viola's first trial from the US Attorney’s Office to the task force location where Dawn Pasela worked, Viola v. Department of Justice, et. al., case number 22-2186, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  In that litigation, both the FBI and Department of Justice admitted making false statements about evidence in Viola’s case.  In 2020, Bennett was fired by the Justice Department and is currently undergoing disbarment proceedings, Disciplinary Counsel v, Bennett, case number 2022-034; DOJ Inspector General Report Number 21-005.

STATEMENTS FROM THE PASELA FAMILY

“Holding a rally in front of Parma City Hall is not something we wanted to do,” said Mrs. Karen Pasela, Dawn’s Mother.  “We went to the Parma Police over a year ago in good faith and provided them with a great deal of evidence that required an investigation by the proper authorities.  We provided city officials details about the theft of Dawn’s computer from her apartment, autopsy photos showing bruising on her neck and her broken necklace, transcripts detailing conversations about Dawn’s ‘murder’ and records that Dan Kasaris destroyed his own computer on the very the day Dawn died.  In July of last year, the Parma Police promised to turn this file over to Ohio BCI’s Cold Case Unit, but gave us one excuse after another as to why that wasn’t done. Meanwhile, we continue to gather more and more new evidence, including the fact that the police called a mortuary service, not an ambulance, and new witness statements supporting our claims.  We are putting this rally together hoping that more people will come forward and share what they know.”

Dawn’s Father, Mr. Edward Pasela, added:  “The first thing Parma Police told us was that this case was above their pay grade and was too political because it involved prosecutors.  If they felt that way, we hoped they would step aside and refer this case to another agency who could take a hard look at the facts, but the city refuses, leaving us with a cruel choice:   either forget about our daughter or continue to seek a proper investigation into all that’s occurred. And we are going to do all we can to hold anyone who hurt our daughter accountable.”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The rally is being held pursuant to City of Parma Permit # 2009, which allows free parking in adjacent City Lot at City Hall.  Everyone is welcome to join us and make their voices heard, and to provide any suggestions and ideas, but to do so in a peaceful and respectful way.  Complementary appetizers will be provided at a nearby restaurant immediately after the event.

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE ALSO AVAILABLE:  To learn more about Dawn, or to review the County Sheriff’s directives to the Parma Police, or review other source documents, kindly visit www.JusticeForDawn.com.  To learn more the criminal prosecution of Tony Viola, or to review court filings by Yale Law School or Attorney Kim Corral, please visit www.FreeTonyViola.com.

ABOUT FREETONYVIOLA.COM:  FreeTonyViola.com’s mission is to shine a bright spotlight on the ‘win at all costs’ tactics, prosecutorial overreach and misconduct the United States Department of Justice employs when prosecuting American citizens.  Tony Viola was investigated by the Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force, a multi-jurisdictional task force comprised of state, local and federal agencies, and prosecuted in parallel federal and state cases. He lost the federal case but was exonerated at a subsequent state trial.  The website, originally created to solicit leads for Tony’s investigative team, has evolved into a tool to keep the public informed about critical developments in his case, and to share information that could potentially assist others who have been wrongfully ensnared by our criminal justice system.  For additional information, visit http://www.FreeTonyViola.com, friend us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tony.viola.9212, or follow us on Twitter @TonyViola.

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