SCRANTON -- A judge sentenced a man to the maximum for his role a murder in Lackawanna County.
It has been exactly one year since Jason Dominick and Neil Pal were arrested for Frank Bonacci's murder.
Dominick, who was convicted as the shooter, received the maximum sentence allowed by law, plus some extra time because he was on probation when the murder happened last July.
In total, Dominick will spend 42 and half to 85 years behind bars.
"The sad part about it is Frankie's name will be linked to those people, Jason and Neil's names forever. That's the sad part about it. This doesn't get out of your memory, it stays there."
Frank Bonacci's family filled a Lackawanna County courtroom for the second to last time before the end of their son's murder case.
Bonacci's convicted killers, Jason Dominick and Neil Pal stood trial separately this year.
Dominick, who was convicted of third degree murder, will spend a total of 42 and a half to 85 years in prison.
"He stands eligible for parole when he's about 66, historically you do about 65 or 75 percent or your maximum. So, when he gets to the point in time when he's considered for parole, I would suggest that he's probably going to be at the end of his natural life," said Lackawanna County First Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico.
Dominick's mother and father pleaded for leniency in court. His father said Jason was a good kid for 97 percent of his life.
Then, the judge gave Dominick the longest sentence allowed by law.
"His mother can wait for that phone to ring for him calling from jail. My phone's never going to ring, ever," said Robin Bonacci, mother of the victim.
Dominick also pleaded for leniency, standing by his story that he was just a witness to Bonacci's murder and was then forced to cover it up.
"I was forced to lie for a malicious killer," Dominick said in court. "No amount of years will change that I did not kill Frankie. I'm guilty of being a coward."
"People just make bad choices, and as Jason said, on July 20 he made a bad choice," said defense attorney Bernie Brown.
Dominick's defense attorney has not said if he plans to appeal the murder conviction...
Dominick's co-defendant Neil Pal will have a sentencing hearing at a later date, but Pal was convicted of first degree murder which carries a mandatory life sentence.