Timeline: Key Events in the Thomas Monfils Murder Case (The Journal Times: January 10, 2001)

Timeline: Key events in the Thomas Monfils murder case:

Racine, Wisconsin

By WIRE; Jan 10, 2001

1992:

Nov. 21 – Monfils, 35, disappears at James River Corp. paper mill after several fellow union members, including Keith Kutska, confront him with a tape-recording of an anonymous telephone call he made to police. The call informed on Kutska’s plan to steal electrical cord from the mill. Police had released a copy of the tape to Kutska at his request.
Nov. 22 – Monfils’ mangled body found with a 50-pound weight tied to his neck in a two-story vat of paper pulp, a mud-like substance used in paper-making. Autopsy finds he was beaten but died of suffocation.

1993:

Oct. 19 – Legislature passes “Monfils Law,” to protect identities of police informants.

1995:

April 12 – Kutska, Michael Hirn, Reynold Moore, Michael Piaskowski, Dale Basten and Michael L. Johnson arrested, charged with being party to first-degree intentional homicide.
Oct. 28 – All six defendants found guilty of being party to first-degree intentional homicide, carrying a mandatory life term. Jury for trial was selected in Racine County because of pretrial publicity in Green Bay area.

1997:

June 2 – Judge rejects motion of Piaskowski for retrial; similar requests by Baston, Johnson and Moore were denied earlier.
June 16 – Trial begins in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee in civil lawsuit filed by Monfils’ widow, Susan, accusing Green Bay officials, including several police officers, of negligence in the death.
June 27 – Jury awards more than $2 million to Monfils family. Susan was awarded $638,000 and her two children were awarded $650,000 each.
Sept. 23 – Kutska’s request for retrial denied.
Oct. 31 – Hirn’s request for retrial denied.
Nov. 28 – Federal court upholds $2 million damage award against Green Bay.

1998:

Feb. 17 – State appeals court upholds convictions of Basten, Johnson and Moore.
April 23 – State Supreme Court declines to hear requests for new trials by Basten, Johnson and Moore.
Sept. 22 – State appeals court upholds convictions of Kutska and Piaskowski.
Dec. 23 – Federal appeals court upholds $2 million in damages awarded to Susan Monfils.

1999:

2001:

Jan. 9 – Federal judge orders release of Piaskowski, finding there was insufficient evidence to convict him. State attorneys said they planned to appeal and seek a stay of release.

Posted on: February 15, 2017Jared Manninen