Dibartolo May Go National ‘20/20’ Interested In Doing Segment On Convicted Killer

Convicted murderer Tom DiBartolo, who says local reporters treated him unfairly during his recent trial, may protest the verdict on national television.

A producer for the ABC-TV news magazine “20/20” confirmed Friday that he wants to do a segment on DiBartolo.

DiBartolo is scheduled to be sentenced in Spokane County Superior Court on Jan. 21.

“I’d say the likelihood of us doing anything depends on getting his and his attorney’s cooperation,” said ABC producer Sam Fine.

In an initial talk with Fine, defense attorney Maryann Moreno asked to review a list of questions the program wants to ask DiBartolo.

But Fine told her network policy prohibits providing written questions in advance of an interview.

Moreno said the decision is now strictly DiBartolo’s.

The former sheriff’s deputy has no plans to speak with TV or newspaper reporters in Spokane, Moreno said. “He believes the coverage here has been one-sided.”

Following a five-week trial, a jury convicted DiBartolo of first-degree murder on Dec. 12 for killing his wife, Patty. The mother of five was shot in the head the night of Nov. 2, 1996, at Lincoln Park in south Spokane.

While prosecutors said the motive was primarily financial, DiBartolo, 43, contends she was killed by one of two would-be robbers who fled on foot and were never captured.

If DiBartolo agrees to a “20/20” interview, it’s because he would get “more than a couple minutes” to argue why key defense evidence rejected by the judge should have come before the jury, his lawyer said.

Moreno said the excluded evidence will be part of the basis for her appeal.

She cited the judge’s decision to not let jurors hear a Spokane man testify that he was with two friends who talked about the murder of a woman the night of Patty DiBartolo’s death.

She also plans to challenge Judge Neal Rielly’s ruling barring her from having memory experts testify. Moreno wanted to show jurors that conflicting statements DiBartolo made in interviews with police after the murder are typical for people struggling to recall a traumatic event.

Court TV gave national exposure to the murder case in a brief segment last week.

Moreno and Spokane County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser talked with Court TV commentators for about four minutes during the network’s “Prime Time Justice” segment Tuesday.

The topic: Can Sweetser get an exceptional sentence for DiBartolo?

The standard range for a person without a criminal record convicted of first-degree murder is 20 to 26 years.

But DiBartolo deserves a stiffer sentence, Sweetser said, because the murder involved “sophisticated planning,” he falsely accused others, and he damaged race relations in the community by insisting the killer was a young black man.

Law enforcement officers “should be held to higher standards” by virtue of their sworn oath to uphold the law, Sweetser argued.

Countered Moreno: “I don’t think you can argue that this guy, by virtue of his employment, is somehow more culpable than someone else with a different profession.”

Gonzaga Law School professor George Critchlow, however, said Sweetser’s argument, “particularly about the sophistication gained as a police officer, is not unreasonable.

“This may well be a case of first impression,” he added, meaning the state Supreme Court will have to decide whether the DiBartolo sentence will set a precedent.

After DiBartolo is sentenced, the state will decide whether he should serve his sentence in Washington.

Corrections officials will assess whether his life will be in danger if imprisoned in this state, said spokesman Veltry Johnson.

If that’s the case, DiBartolo could be placed in protective confinement - isolating him from the general prison population. Another option is to send DiBartolo to an out-of-state prison, Johnson said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo