In 1981, David Harden of Cincinnati was a 22-year-old small-time thief with such a severe alcohol and drug habit that he would do almost anything to satisfy it.
Including commit murder. He agreed to kill an Akron businessman in return for $2,000 from the victim's brother.Posing as a Western Union delivery man, Harden entered the home of Constantine Milo, pulled a gun on him, ordered him to lie on the floor and shot him twice in the head.
A few months later, Harden was arrested in Phoenix on a theft charge. He told lawmen that he could implicate Fred Milo and 11 others in the plot to murder Constantine Milo - the brutal end to a bitter dispute over control of the family's barber and beauty supply business.
Eventually, Harden made a critical decision - one that he has come to bitterly regret. In return for pleading guilty to being the triggerman in the Milo case and testifying against the plotters, Harden agreed to go into the federal witness-protection prison units with a life sentence - which he was told would allow him to be paroled in 15 years. After his release, prosecutors in Summit County, Ohio, told him, he would get a new identity and a new life.
Harden lived up to his end of the bargain. The government didn't.
Every person he testified against was convicted. His testimony helped the murdered Milo's family win a $5.5 million civil judgment.
Harden maintained a clean record in prison. He completed drug and alcohol counseling. He received his high-school diploma. He hoped for a quiet life in the witness program after he served 15 years for his crime.
But the Ohio Board of Parole rejected several recommendations for Harden's release and gave him 15 more years. In the meantime, others he implicated in lesser roles in the killing are either free or appear to be scheduled for release.
To make matters worse, federal officials convinced Harden to sign himself out of the witness protection program, saying he was no longer in danger for his testimony. But when he was moved to a minimum-security prison in the Southwest, he was escorted by federal marshals. Other inmates immediately suspected he might be an informant.
Several threatened him. Since October, he has been confined to self-lockup - putting himself in solitary confinement.
Harden asked to get back into the witness-protection program, but officials refused to talk with him.
Like many other federal witnesses, Harden has become the victim of a string of broken promises and misleading information. He also falls into a special category - state prisoners housed in federal institutions. They tend to get short shrift from federal officials because they were never witnesses in federal trials.
Although Harden was told that he would probably be paroled after 15 years, and even though his former prosecutor and his victim's family have supported his release, the Ohio parole board is under no legal obligation to let him go.
When Harden came up for parole, prison counselors wrote: "Mr. Harden has endeavored to improve his life mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. He feels remorse for his past crime and wants to make a positive contribution to society."
Attorney Fred Zuch of the prosecutor's office, Harden's sponsor in the witness program, wrote: "David Harden totally cooperated with the state of Ohio. . . . David's cooperation has continued long after any plea-negotiation requirements. He has made continued efforts to advance his education and has also consistently demonstrated remorse involving his crime. Even though he was the homicide `trigger man,' it is my opinion that he was manipulated and used.
"At the time of his guilty plea, I represented that David would have a parole eligibility hearing in 15 years. If possible, any problems with credit for time served should be resolved in favor of David because of his extraordinary cooperation."
A lawyer for Constantine Milo's family also wrote the board, praising Harden's help, which led to the judgment against the brother.
"David Harden fully cooperated with us during the prosecution of this civil action. He did so, as he told us, because of his sincere regret and remorse over what he had done to Mrs. Milo and her children. I would also add that after he testified at the trial of his civil matter, David Harden did not attempt to exact `promises' from us," wrote Akron attorney Orville L. Reed.
The parole board has declined to comment.
Harden sits. He hopes he won't have to do another 15 years, but he figures he will.
"My lawyer said it (the parole rejection) will cause the prosecutor's office in Akron problems in the future. No one will cooperate for them," he said.
Dist. by Scripps Howard News Service.