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| Left to right: Christopher Anderson, Brad Smith, Dean Mandros and Larry Kiroff |
NATIONAL DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION AWARDS TOLEDO, OH PROSECUTORS WITH ITS “HOME RUN HITTERS” AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
ALEXANDRIA, VA – April 8, 2007 – Dean Mandros, Christopher Anderson, Larry Kiroff and Brad Smith were the recipients of the National District Attorneys Association’s (NDAA) “Home Run Hitters Award” of excellence at its Board of Directors meeting last week. These Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys were nominated for this award by Julia R. Bates, Prosecuting Attorney in Lucas County, Toledo, Ohio, and a Director at Large of the NDAA. They were presented with an engraved, authentic, Louisville Slugger baseball bat and a plaque in recognition of their outstanding prosecution of Reverend Gerald Robinson. Ms. Bates was clearly proud of the work of her Assistants during this tedious investigation and trial.
In 1980, the day before Easter, Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, a Roman Catholic nun, was brutally murdered. She had been choked, draped with an altar cloth and stabbed nine times through the heart in the shape of an upside-down cross. The altar cloth was removed and her killer continued to stab her 22 more times and anoint her with her own blood in a gruesome version of the last rites.
In 2003, this cold case war re-opened after an unidentified woman reported having been sexually molested and forced to participate in satanic rituals by several Toledo priests. Reverend Gerald Robinson, who worked with Sister Margaret Ann, was among the accused priests. He was arrested in 2004 and charged with the murder of Sister Margaret Ann.
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| Left to right: Larry Kiroff, Christopher Anderson, Brad Smith, Prosecuting Attorney Julia R. Bates, Dean Mandros and NDAA President Mathias H. Heck, Jr. |
Dean Mandros, a veteran career prosecutor of more than 20 years, took charge as the lead prosecutor. Dean and his team of criminal prosecutors, Christopher Anderson, Larry Kiroff and Brad Smith faced daunting obstacles in working on this case. They selflessly committed two years of their lives tracking down missing witnesses and retired police officers, as well as reconstructing the old murder scene. Experts in the fields of forensic pathology, forensic anthropology, tool mark identification, blood transfer pattern analysis, DNA analysis and Catholic doctrine and ritual were contacted to help build the case. This entire decades old cold case was built primarily on circumstantial evidence.
The trial lasted three weeks, included forty-one witness testimonies and the introduction of more than 200 items of evidence. The jury deliberated for six hours before finding Reverend Gerald Robinson guilty of the 1980 murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl. Reverend Robinson was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Dean, Chris, Larry and Brad exemplify the exceptional qualities necessary to be outstanding prosecutors. Throughout the trial, Dean and his team demonstrated determination, perseverance, candor and a tenacious attitude toward their work. Thanks to them, Sister Margaret Ann Pahl’s murderer is finally being held accountable.
Mathias (Mat) H. Heck, Jr., NDAA President and Prosecuting Attorney in Montgomery County (Dayton), OH said, “It takes prosecutors with exemplary dedication, focus, determination and commitment to their communities to solve such a difficult cold case. The NDAA takes great pride in honoring these special prosecutors for a job well done. They are models for all prosecutors in America.”
The NDAA represents approximately 30,000 prosecutors. About 95% of all cases are tried by state and local prosecutors. NDAA is the voice of America’s Prosecutors.
CONTACT: Velva M. Walter
Director, Media Relations NDAA
703-519-1689 – Email: velva.walter@ndaa.org
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