Given the chance to speak at his sentencing hearing yesterday, Anthony Rodesky told his loved ones that he was sorry. For the relatives of the two men he killed, however, he had no words.
"I apologize to my family," Rodesky said. "Other than that, I have nothing else to say."
State Superior Court Judge Linda G. Baxter then gave the 34-year-old man 60 years in prison without parole for murdering Ranjit "Randy" Patel in Maple Shade and James F. Mickno at Rodesky's Berlin Township home.
Baxter said she had seen defendants charged with shoplifting show more remorse.
Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi echoed the judge's words after the hearing.
"You saw what we had in that courtroom. The guy's an animal," he said. "Zero remorse. He has no conscience."
The murders took place in different counties, but the cases were consolidated in Camden County.
Rodesky's 17-year-old stepson, Andrew Hamilton, also faces a felony murder charge in Camden County for stabbing Mickno. Rodesky said yesterday, as he had at his plea hearing this month, that he had forced Hamilton at gunpoint to stab Mickno.
"It was sure as hell I would have killed Andrew that same day," he said. He said Hamilton wet his pants "when I did this."
Baxter stopped Rodesky, admonishing him for his language. Prosecutors have moved forward with the charge against Hamilton, who was arraigned before Baxter this week in adult court.
Rodesky shot Patel, owner of the Rodeway Inn on Route 73, on March 28. He stole Patel's car and abandoned it in Philadelphia.
Rodesky lured Mickno, owner of a Maple Shade flooring business, to his home to talk about a job April 1. Rodesky had worked as a carpet installer for a subcontractor of Mickno's.
He admitted shooting Mickno seven times, then dumping his body behind a high school several days later. Rodesky sold Mickno's car, cashed his checks, and used his credit cards.
He was arrested in May and quickly worked out a deal to plead guilty. Prosecutors agreed not to seek charges against his wife, Ranota, for dumping two of his guns in a lake.
This month, Rodesky was charged with attempted escape after he removed a security screen and part of a window in his Camden County jail cell. He pleaded guilty to that charge yesterday.
Rodesky, who is covered with white-power tattoos, including a swastika that has been covered over on his forehead, had been in and out of jail since 1989, mostly for burglary. He was last released in 2004.
