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City Pays Record $9.9 Million to Man Framed by "Mafia Cops"
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 4, 2010
Modified Jun 4, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 4, 2010
Modified Jun 4, 2010
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A former postal worker who spent 18 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit won the largest personal settlement the city has ever agreed to pay: $9.9 million. Thanks to the Innocence Project, Barry Gibbs was set free in 2005 after prosecutors' key witness admitted that Detective Louis Eppolito had forced him pick Gibbs out of a line up, even though the man he'd seen was smaller and shorter. Eppolito and his partner Stephen Caracappa are in prison for life for taking part in mob-related killings and doing other dirty work for the Luchese crime family.
Gibbs, a recovering drug addict, was just getting his life back together and returning to his postal service job in 1986 when he was accused of strangling a 27-year-old prostitute to death and dumping her near the Belt Parkway. Gibbs knew the woman, and his lawyers say Eppolito focused the investigation on him because he was trying to protect the real killer, who may have had mob ties. Of course, Eppolito says he's the one who was framed, and during a deposition two years ago kept saying, "You know I’m innocent. I’m a case for the Innocence Project."
Gibbs, who lives in Canarsie and has severe health problems, will pay the standard 1/3 of the settlement to attorney Barry Scheck, a co-director of the Innocence Project whose private firm handled his case. Gibbs tells the Times, "The settlement I’m happy with; it was my bottom-line settlement. They are permanent scars. It’s been a long road. I’ve been through a lot, and it was very traumatic for me." Speaking with the Post, he added, "I think the whole criminal-justice system needs an overhaul. It's not just the cops; it's the whole justice system. They're lucky that they got away with what they got away with."
Tagged
bad cop
Barry Gibbs
innocence project
Louis Eppolito
mafia cops
nypd
settlement
Steven Caracappa
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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