Pair sentenced for Niagara Falls killing

(Update)

The man who bludgeoned Jason Pizzicarola to death in Niagara Falls three years ago will spend the next 20 years behind bars. Anthony Lococco was sentenced Monday afternoon. As Lauran Sabourin reports, Lococco’s accomplice, Bill Burjoski was given eight years for ordering the attack.

The victim, Jason Pizzicarola was whacked twice in the head by Anthony Lococco inside Bill Burjoski’s Niagara Falls home. Pizzicarola collapsed, bleeding profusely. The attack happened during a days long alcohol and drug fueled party.

Geoff Hadfield is Anthony Lococco’s lawyer: “It really was a situational incident that arose in the context of massive drug and alcohol consumption. No one’s recollection of this is very clear.”

In an agreed statement of fact, Crown Attorney Bob Mahler read out what both sides believe happened in those early morning hours of August 7th, 2010.

Jason Pizzicarola was staying at the Burjoski house. They went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Pizzicarola, Lococco, Kory Shantz and a few others ended up at the Burjoski house.

After punching a couple of people, Lococco turned on Pizzicarola. Lococco chased him through the house with a baseball bat smashing him three times at the front door.

Lococco said they would have to kill Kory Shantz because he witnessed the attack. Lococco and Burjoski sliced Shantz’ leg and arm and told him “you’re part of this now.”

Shantz helped put Pizzicarola’s body in the basement freezer.

When Burjoski’s brother-in-law came over, he asked what happened. Burjoski told him “he was getting on my nerves and we had to hit him two or three times, he was hard to go down.”

What is not clear here is what prompted Lococco and Burjoski to attack Jason Pizzicarola. They were all either drinking or doing cocaine that night. But they were all friends.

Hadfield: “It’s a tragedy on its face. And a deeper tragedy because they were friends. In fact Lococco and Pizzicarola referred to themselves as cousins.”

During that same morning burjoski and lococco left the house for a time. It was then that a second man, 47-year old Michael Hindle was attacked in the street outside the Belleview Tavern. He later died in hospital.

Two days after that while investigating the Hindle killing, police found the body of Jason Pizzicarola inside Burjoski’s unplugged freezer.

Lococco was sentenced to four years for killing Michael Hindle, Burjowski 60 days. Both men have served that time in the Thorold jail while waiting for this case, the killing of Jason Pizzicarola, to be resolved.