FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CLEVELAND, OHIO – June 20, 2023 – FreeTonyViola.com announced today that, on the eve of Ohio Supreme Court disbarment proceedings against former federal Prosecutor Mark Bennett, a Rally for Justice will be held outside the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday, June 27, 5-7 PM, 65 S Front St, Columbus, OH 43215.  In 2020, Mark Bennett was fired by the Justice Department for serious misconduct and criminal activities and is currently undergoing disbarment proceedings, Disciplinary Counsel v, Bennett, case number 2022-034; Department of Justice Inspector General Report Number 21-005, Ohio Supreme Court Case Number 2023-0471.  A hearing about Bennett’s pending disbarment will be held the morning of June 28 and will be live streamed by the Ohio Supreme Court’s Ohio Channel.

According to the Inspector General, Mark Bennett “physically and verbally harassed” women for two decades, demanded nude photos from colleagues, committed “sexual imposition”, insisted on “a sexual favor in exchange for a letter of recommendation” for an intern because he was excited about the “size” of her “buttocks.”  Bennett was caught “deliberately running his arm across the breast,” of a colleague and purchased jewelry for married co-workers.  Bennett also lied to investigators about utilizing a myriad of social media platforms to troll women on line – Bennett used Snapchat, Facebook messenger, Twitter, Skype messages and other means to solicit sex.  Bennett falsely claimed he didn’t log onto social media sites from his government computer, saying he “completely avoided those sites” because he feared his computer could be infected with “viruses.” A forensic analysis of Bennett’s computer showed he logged into Facebook and Twitter “more than 25 times” and made a number of false statements to investigators. 

In addition to the Inspector General Investigation, The FBI and Justice Department also blamed Mark Bennett for making material misrepresentations about evidence in the criminal case of Anthony Viola, Viola v. U.S. Department of Justice, et. al., 15-cv-242, WD Pa, document numbers 99 and 164.  Viola was exonerated at a subsequent criminal trial but spent a decade in prison.  Yale University Law School represents Anthony Viola in a case where Bennett concealed an affair between Assistant Ohio Attorney General Dan Kasaris and government witness Kathryn Clover, used Clover’s perjured testimony in criminal cases, and shifted exculpatory evidence before Viola's first trial from the US Attorney’s Office to a multi-jurisdictional task force location, Viola v. Department of Justice, et. al., case number 22-2186, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

Prior to Viola’s first trial, Bennett directed his Office Manager, Dawn Pasela, to pose as a graduate student studying criminal justice and record a series of post-indictment conversations with Viola.  Ms. Pasela also donated finds towards Viola's legal fees so Bennett could use her cancelled check to identify the law firm's bank account and obtain confidential defense trial strategy information.  Later, Ms. Pasela came forward to assist Viola and provided him with exculpatory evidence Bennett failed to produce before the first trial.  During Viola’s second trial, she was threatened with prison and found dead in her apartment under suspicious circumstances, www.uncovered.com/cases/Dawn-Pasela.

In 2023, Attorney Kim Corral recently submitted a detailed court filing about Bennett’s misconduct during the Viola prosecution that led to the death of Dawn Pasela, In re: Anthony Viola, Case No. 23-3050, Sixth Circuit, and JusticeForDawn.com.

Despite overwhelming evidence of criminal activities by Mark Bennett, the Ohio Supreme Court Disciplinary Counsel is only pursuing a tiny portion of the Bennett misconduct identified in government investigations and has refused repeated requests by Viola and the family of Dawn Pasela to meet with investigators and submit additional evidence about Bennett’s wrongdoing.  The Disciplinary Counsel has refused to investigate the following:

•        The affair between Assistant Ohio A.G. Dan Kasaris and Government Witness Kathryn Clover, who lied in criminal trials & grand jury proceedings, USA v. Clover, 10-cr-75, N.D Oh, Docket # 46.

•        $20 million in Restitution in “mortgage fraud” cases is missing or unaccounted for

•        Bennett’s destruction of Evidence in Criminal Cases

•        Bennett’s materially false statements during criminal proceedings that led to the incarceration of innocent citizens

•        Bennett’s threats to indict the wives of criminal defendants unless the testified falsely in court proceedings

Documentary evidence in support of all statements made above can be found on line in the Evidence Locker of FreeTonyViola.com.  Scheduled speakers at the event are exonerees, Jamie Sell from the Wrongful Conviction Support Group on Facebook, author Bob Grundstein and representatives from the family of Dawn Pasela.  Additional speakers are welcome to join us at the event and should contact Tony Viola for details.

ABOUT THE YALE LAW SCHOOL APPELLATE CLINIC:  The Yale Law School Appellate Litigation Project provides legal representation under the supervision of attorneys from the law firm of Wiggin and Dana to pro se appellants with meritorious civil cases pending before the court.  For additional information about the clinic, please visit www.law.yale.edu/clinics/our-clinics, or www.wiggin.com.

ABOUT ATTORNEY KIMBERLY KENDALL CORRAL:  Kimberly Kendall Corral has successfully and aggressively defended a wide range of criminal cases from misdemeanors to capital homicide cases. Kim represents clients at all levels of criminal justice advocacy. This includes investigation, indictment, pre-trial motions practice, trial, direct appeals, post-conviction remedies, jurisdictional appeals, habeas corpus, and wrongful conviction litigation.  Kim was invited to the Oval Office to discuss a client’s pardon with the President of the United States and White House Counsel. She was honored as a Rising Star in 2019 by Super Lawyers, please see www.kimlawcrimlaw.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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