Family and friends of a firefighter killed while battling flames at a struggling restaurant more than 35 years ago are urging Gov. Jerry Brown to deny parole to a man serving 25 years to life in the murder.
The letter-writing campaign aims to keep Mario Catanio, then 42, behind bars for torching Cugee's Restaurant and Coffee Shop on Jan. 28, 1981 in an attempt to collect on a $175,000 insurance policy.
Los Angeles Firefighter Thomas Gregory Taylor, 34, died and eight other firefighters were injured when the roof collapsed in the fire. Taylor, who had been with the department for seven years, left behind a wife and two sons. He also left behind a father and brother who were LA firefighters and were working at different stations when he died.
The California Board of Parole Hearings last week granted parole to Catanio, now 76. Gov. Brown has 120 days to either grant or veto the decision.
"Mr. Catanio should never get out of prison," said Kenneth Barshop, who prosecuted Catanio, is now a semiretired lawyer and is considering writing Brown a letter. "He torched the building for $2,500. He didn't care what happened. He should never get out."
Catanio's attorney couldn't immediately be reached.
But Steve DeFilippis, who represented him during a parole hearing in 2004, said at the time his client had been a model inmate, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"All these years he has stayed out of trouble; he has excellent psychological reports from counselors," DeFilippis said, according to The Times. "He doesn't present a danger to anyone."
LA Times archives describe the dramatic fire scene.
Firefighter Thomas Shrout grasped for Taylor after he lost his grip on burning metal.
"They locked fingers twice, but their gloves were wet from the rain and they could not hold on," The Times said. "Taylor let go and fell into the raging fire, where he died."
Shrout, who was cited a year later for valor in the incident, couldn't talk about it.
"I still have nightmares about it," he said, according to The Times. "It's tough. I had hold of his hand. I just couldn't pull him out."
