Maria Figliola, convicted for hiring Hamilton hit man, granted monthly home visits
Maria Figliola, convicted of first-degree murder in hiring a hit man to kill her husband nearly 20 years ago, has received approval from the Parole Board of Canada to make monthly visits to Hamilton this year.
Figliola, 65, has been serving a life sentence at Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener.
Her husband, Frank, was found bludgeoned to death near a Stoney Creek walking path at 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 7, 2001.
Two years later, Hamilton homicide detectives arrested Figliola at her workplace, cuffed her and walked her from the building.
On March 24, the parole board ruled that, following a review of Figliola's request to regularly visit her mother and other family in Hamilton, it would approve a package of escorted temporary absences" from prison for one year.
She has previously been granted passes to attend church outside the prison, and has visited family twice on escorted visits. In 2021 she will be permitted one family visit per month, which falls short of Figliola's request of four visits per month.
She will be accompanied on the trips by a nonsecurity escort under close supervision; and travel in a Government Vehicle with no secondary stops."
The board noted that victim impact statements show Frank Figliola's family has suffered never ending sorrow of the loss of their loved one in such a violent way."
While the board report says Figliola continues to deny her guilt, even after having been convicted in two separate trials, a psychological assessment in December placed her risk of violent reoffending in the low range," and that financial stressors and criminal thinking patterns are your primary risk factors."
In jailhouse interviews with The Hamilton Spectator in late 2019, Figliola said she takes responsibility for his death," but in the sense that she should have warned Frank he was in danger due to his gambling debts.
It's taken me this long to finally say I was part of my husband's murder," she said. But I wasn't the one who sanctioned it. Did I know something was going down? Yeah, I thought maybe they were going to break his legs or something like that ... I messed up, I sinned in the eyes of the church. I had an affair. But I didn't kill anybody."
At her trials, the Crown argued Figliola's motives in paying $17,000 for a contract hit on Frank were greed and lust" - collecting his life insurance and pension money while continuing an affair with a younger man.
Figliola is serving a 25-year-to-life sentence and is eligible to apply for day parole in December 2029, and full parole three years after that.
The parole board noted that in September, Figliola was transferred from a minimum security facility to medium, due to allegations of bullying and intimidation," but that following an investigation she was returned to minimum security.
Figliola's co-accused in the first trial pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of murder. No one has ever been tried, or convicted, for carrying out the hit on Frank Figliola.
Jon Wells is a Hamilton-based reporter and feature writer for The Spectator. Reach him via email: jwells@thespec.com