Pascarella
KINGSTON – Nicholas Pascarella, Jr., the man who was found guilty of killing his father, Nicholas, Sr., with a baseball bat at the elder’s Marlboro home, was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison.
The younger Pascarella killed his father on December 27, 2014 outside
his parents’ home while his mother watched the attack. During the trial,
the defense argued he committed the homicide while under extreme emotional
disturbance and therefore should be convicted of manslaughter. The jury
rejected that argument.
Judith Pascarella, the wife of the victim and mother of the defendant told Ulster County Court Judge Donald Williams that “my son did the ultimate betrayal. He cold bloodedly and without hesitation killed his father, his hero as you heard him describe here in court.”
Jared Cocozza, the grandson of the victim and nephew of the defendant told the judge that “There won’t be him smiling in the audience at my graduation or even to bust my chops on my first date.” The youngster told the judge that his brother “got six years with him but I will make sure he knows everything that pop taught me cause he taught me about life, love and family. And no one, not even a murder, can take that away.”
Judge Williams told Pascarella, Jr. that he did not feel there was any chance of rehabilitation for him.
The judge read from a transcript of a phone call that Pascarella, Jr. made to his estranged wife, Michelle, from jail shortly after the murder. “Five years is a long time to sleep by myself and never be held again. And to be honest I would do it every single day for you. The sad part is when five years is up and I get a taste of freedom and you ask me to kill somebody else, I’d do it again.”
