Mayor and Council Pass Resolution to Keep New Milford Woman's Murderer Behind Bars

In response to Chief Frank Papapietro's call for action to keep convicted murderer Christopher Righetti behind bars, the mayor and council passed a resolution Monday that Righetti be denied parole.

The resolution—unanimously approved—asks that the parole board deny Righetti parole and that any consideration of a future parole date be no less than 35 years from now.

Righetti is eligible for parole on April 16, nearly 36 years after he killed Kim Montalero, a 20-year-old New Milford resident who he kidnapped from the  on Aug. 31, 1976, brutally raped and stabbed to death in a secluded area of the Pine Lake Swim Club in Washington Township. Righetti was found guilty and given a life sentence. 

The resolution comes about as a result of a loophole in the law. In January 2010, the state Legislature passed two bills during its lame-duck session under Gov. Jon Corzine, mandating that inmates who have been denied parole receive a new parole hearing every three years. The bills, A4201 and A4202, called for a panel to review prisoners who had served 20 years or more on their sentences.

Although these laws have since been repealed, Righetti "fell between the cracks." Each time that Righetti has come up for parole, the parents of Kim Montelaro have had to travel from their home in Florida to press the state to keep Righetti locked away.

With the cooperation of the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association, Papapietro and Washington Twp. Chief Randy Ciocco are requesting that the police chiefs of each town ask their mayor and council to pass a resolution supporting the Montelaro family in their appeal to the parole board to deny Righetti parole. 

In a letter dated March 14, Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan asked the N.J. State Parole Board to deny parole for Righetti "not just for the pain of the Montelaro family, but the safety of all of Bergen County's families."

To sign the petition to keep Righetti behind bars click here.