GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A commissioner has recommended against parole for the last man imprisoned in the 1992 murder of paperworker Tom Monfils.
Monfils was found dead in the bottom of a pulp vat at the then-James River mill on Green Bay’s east side. Six men — Kutska, Dale Basten, Michael Johnson, Michael Piaskowski, Rey Moore and Michael Hirn — were convicted after a joint trial. All were sentenced to life in prison, with a variety of parole eligibility dates.
Kutska’s latest parole review was held Tuesday.
“The assigned Commissioner assessed that he had satisfied the conduct and programming requirements for a parole grant, with the risk reduction, time served, and release plan requirements remaining unmet,” Oliver Buchino, Offender Records Associate with the Dept. of Corrections, told Fox 11.
While he won’t be released, Kutska will likely be moved from the Jackson Correctional Institution, near Black River Falls.
“Mr. Kutska was endorsed for a reduction in custody below medium, his current security level. When and where this reduction occurs will fall under the Program Review Committee (PRC) at the institution. Demonstrating continued acceptable conduct in a lower level of security is an important part of the Commission’s risk assessment. This transition can also help determine when a future request by the Commission to investigate Mr. Kutska’s proposed release plans would be appropriate,” Buchino said.
It will take up to a month for the chair of the parole commission to finalize the recommendations submitted after Tuesdays hearing. If the parole denial is confirmed, Kutska’s next parole review would be in September.
A federal judge overturned Piaskowski’s conviction in 2001. The other four were paroled in recent years, leaving just Kutska in prison.
It was Kutska’s theft of an extension cord — reported by Monfils — which triggered the sequence of events which led to the murder, according to prosecutors. However, all six men have maintained their innocence.
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