FL: Reward money for high profile murder case is blocked by family members...
Slimpickins
murder, disappearance of Singer Island
couple
By KEVIN KRAUSE Sun-Sentinel
An attempt to finance a reward in the high-profile
slaying
of Janette Piro and the disappearance of her husband,
Chris
Benedetto, may have hit a snag -- from an unlikely
source.
Piro's sister and mother have filed court papers
seeking to
block Benedetto's family from using $100,000 from his
estate to go toward the reward.
Regina Koblan and Doris Piro state in the objection,
signed in New Jersey and filed last week, that they
haven't
been given details of the Singer Island couple's
finances and
therefore any appropriation of their assets is
"unwarranted."
Koblan's husband, Michael, is a suspect in the
slaying and
disappearance. No arrests have been made in the case.
Thirteen days after the popular Singer Island couple
failed
to show for a dinner date in November 1998, Janette
Piro's
strangled body was discovered stuffed in a bait freezer
in
their garage.
Police focused on Michael Koblan almost from the
beginning after a witness reported seeing him return on
Benedetto's boat alone after the two had left earlier
that
day.
When the boat was found, its engine was still
running,
the anchor was missing and fishing rods were left on
board.
Benedetto was never heard from again and is presumed
dead.
Investigators subsequently learned that Chris
Benedetto
had invested money in Michael Koblan's small trucking
business in Hackensack, N.J.
Last month, Benedetto's family successfully
petitioned a
Palm Beach County probate court for permission to use a
portion of his estate as reward money. A Boynton Beach
First Union Bank already has been chosen to hold the
money, and a judge was to approve that arrangement in a
hearing on Wednesday.
But now Circuit Court Judge John D. Wessel will have
to
consider the objection before ruling on the matter.
David W. Crook, a New Jersey attorney representing
Regina Koblan and Doris Piro, stated in a July 17
letter
obtained by the Sun-Sentinel that his clients have been
unable to hire an attorney in Palm Beach County to
administer Janette Piro's estate.
"This in effect has permitted the conservator,
Nancy
Benedetto, to control all of the assets of both the
absentee,
Chris Benedetto, and his deceased wife, Janette Piro,"
Crook
said in the letter.
Regina Koblan plans to petition the probate court to
be
named conservator of her sister's estate, according to
court
documents.
"My clients are of the firm belief that the assets
of the
estate should not be dissipated, especially in light of
the fact
that the heirs of Janette Piro would be affected by any
such
disbursement," Crook wrote.
Alan Kauffman, an attorney representing Nancy
Benedetto
who was appointed conservator of her brother's estate,
said
Chris Benedetto and Janette Piro have only a few joint
assets and that the $100,000 is to come exclusively
from
Chris Benedetto's estate.
"They have no right to even get his assets on behalf
of his
wife," Kauffman said. "This is not money that belongs
to
Janette Piro's family."
Regina Koblan could not be reached Monday for
comment.
Jan Benedetto, one of Janette's sisters, declined to
comment about Koblan's objection but said the family
will be
in Palm Beach County on Wednesday.
Riviera Beach police detectives and State Attorney
Barry
Krischer have agreed that posting the reward money will
help them in solving the case, court documents show.
And
Janette Piro's father, Amiel, also supports
establishing a
reward.
The Benedetto family said the reward is needed
because
"there have been no arrests made, nor has there been
substantial progress in the criminal investigation,"
court
records show.
The family also said in court documents that the
reward
money would not "significantly deplete estate assets."
If the
escrow agreement is approved by Wessel on Wednesday,
the reward and terms would be given to America's Most
Wanted, which has broadcast a segment on the case three
times.
And reward notices would be posted in "highly
visible
locations" in Florida and New York, court records show.
Chris Benedetto, 42, and his wife moved to Singer
Island
from New York in 1996 after he received a
multimillion-dollar
worker's compensation settlement following a serious
construction accident.
They paid cash for their $151,000 home, bought a
boat
and a $60,000 BMW and started a boat brokerage business
the next year. Piro, 45, who was listed as president of
the
brokerage in corporate records, also planned to launch
an
interior design company. Neither left a will.
Kevin Krause can be reached at
kkr...@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6604.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/daily/detail/0,1136,33000000000105847,00.html