NBC News, Fox 8 News in Cleveland, Law 360 & Yahoo News Feature Justice for Dawn Pasela story, Prosecutorial Misconduct in Tony Viola’s Criminal Case

NBC News in Columbus, Fox 8 News in Cleveland and Yahoo News recently spotlighted calls by the family and friends of Dawn Pasela for a new, independent investigation into her suspicious 2012 death just as she was set to testify about prosecutorial misconduct in Tony Viola’s criminal case.  Newly discovered evidence in Dawn’s case and a recent court ruling that the FBI and Justice Department improperly suppressed exculpatory evidence in Tony Viola’s criminal case, have garnered significant public attention and scrutiny.

Why all this media attention now?

Dawn Pasela served as the Office Manager for a multi-jurisdictional Mortgage Fraud Task Force and was ordered to wear a wire by Prosecutors Dan Kasaris and Mark Bennett to record Tony Viola’s defense trial preparation. For more than a decade, Dawn’s death was officially ruled a result of accidental acute alcohol intoxication.  According to recent reporting, critical investigative steps were never taken: three cell phones found in her apartment weren’t collected, surveillance footage and potential witnesses were never pursued, and Dawn’s computer was missing but never investigated — while numerous questions remain unanswered about exactly how she died.

The renewed scrutiny from multiple media outlets has highlighted the inconsistencies and calling attention to what appear to be major investigative oversights, bringing increased public awareness to a case that some thought closed.

New Evidence, Re-examination by Sheriff, and an independent pathologist report

A review by investigators with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department concluded that the original handling of Pasela’s 2012 death by the Parma Police Department was deeply flawed. Key procedures were not followed: among other issues, the three cell phones found in her apartment were not collected; no interviews were conducted with potential witnesses; no surveillance footage was retrieved; Dawn’s neck had significant bruising but was not investigated, a window in the apartment was wide open suggesting an assailant may have left through the window; the heat in the apartment was cranked up to accelerate rigor mortis, among other irregular findings that were never pursued.

A recently commissioned report by Dr. Peter Mazari, a forensic pathologist, argues that Dawn’s death should now be classified as “undetermined,” not a simple accidental alcohol overdose. In his opinion, the evidence is consistent with potential foul play -- not only because of investigative omission, but also because of physical findings (e.g., items at the scene, possible signs of a struggle, and “food” in her stomach that casts doubt on oral ingestion in her last hours) that were never properly addressed.

Journalists have also highlighted newly discovered evidence, including: an outgoing call from one of Pasela’s phones after the time she was purported to have died, autopsy photos reportedly show bruising on her neck and a broken necklace — suggesting possible physical trauma. Investigators and witnesses claim that when police and officers arrived, no ambulance was called; instead, a mortuary service was summoned.

Local officials, including representatives of the Parma Police Department, have resisted calls to reopen the case. The former Safety Director, Bob Coury, argued there was “no basis” to revisit the original medical examiner’s conclusion that the cause of death was acute ethanol intoxication.

Court of Appeals Rules that FBI Withheld Key Evidence in Tony Viola’s Criminal Case and Failed to Properly Search for records concerning Dawn Pasela

At the same time Dawn’s death was the subject of increased public attention, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that the FBI failed to properly search for or improperly withheld critical evidence related to Dawn Pasela and documents related to the prosecution of Tony Viola, Anthony L. Viola v. U.S. Department of Justice, et al., Case No 22-2186, Third Circuit.  The appellate court remanded the matter to the lower court for further proceedings, directing additional review of evidence handling and FBI search efforts. At the center of the litigation are voice recordings made by Dawn Pasela, which are alleged to contain material exculpatory evidence that was not disclosed during Viola’s trial, and the firing and disbarment of former federal prosecutor Mark Bennett, who prosecuted Viola and supervised Pasela’s work during the investigation.  Viola was exonerated at a subsequent trial, using evidence suppressed by prosecutors Bennett and Kasaris, but provided to Viola by Pasela.

The Yale Law School Appellate Clinic and Cleveland-based Attorney Kim Corral collaborated on the winning appellate brief that brought the new evidentiary issues to light.  Their efforts and the recent court ruling were featured in an article in Law 360 and other publications.

Attorney Kim Corral Leads The Pasela Family’s Quest for Justice

Attorney Kim Corral has advocated for a fresh investigation into what happened to Dawn and is urging authorities in Parma to hand the case to an outside agency for an impartial and independent review. Kim has been quoted in the news media stating that a new inquiry might finally answer troubling questions, restore some measure of justice, hold anyone accountable for hurting Dawn and prevent similar situations from happening to others https://youtu.be/tV8Yjxf8XGU?si=Mcrdmzzi8pkIZi4i.

This resurgence shows that even after many years, cold or controversial cases can regain momentum when media and public interest align. The renewed coverage of Dawn Pasela’s story underlines the importance of thorough investigations, transparency, and accountability — not just for one family, but for public trust in the fair administration of justice.

To learn more about Dawn’s case, or to review key evidence, please visit www.JusticeForDawn.com. 

To learn more about the criminal prosecution of Tony Viola, and his subsequent exoneration, kindly visit www.FreeTonyViola.com.

To see how the case has been covered in the media, please check these links:

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