Boardman man who killed wife four years ago finally goes to prison

YOUNGSTOWN — A 60-year-old man who pleaded guilty in May to murdering his wife 4 1‚Ñ2 years ago is finally headed to state prison.

Today, Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court sentenced Joseph P. Nazarini to the mandatory term of 15 years to life in prison in the Feb. 5, 2004, stabbing death of his wife, Denise, 52, in their Oakley Avenue residence in Boardman.

Nazarini, who did not address the judge at his sentencing, will get credit for the 41‚Ñ2 years he’s been in the county jail, so his earliest possible release date would be about 101‚Ñ2 years from now.

No members of the victim’s family made oral statements in court at the sentencing.

But Sheila A. Riczko, of Lakeland, Fla., a cousin of Denise Nazarini, wrote to Judge Sweeney on behalf of the family: “We do not want this man ever to be set free. He brutally murdered our beautiful cousin ... He deserves to die in prison.”

For the complete story, see Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.