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Guy Accused Of Framing Ex (And Fooling Cops) May Have Framed Others
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 31, 2011
Modified Aug 31, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 31, 2011
Modified Aug 31, 2011
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Remember the case of the woman who said her ex-boyfriend framed her for armed robbery because she was pressing rape charges against him? And how even the cops and prosecutors were duped by his alleged machinations, which resulted in the woman getting arrested, thrown in jail and losing her business? Well, now it turns out that others say that Law & Order and CSI superfan Jerry Ramrattan may have set them up to.
The NY Times humblebrags, "Law enforcement officials said that after The New York Times published an article last month about [Seemona] Sumasar’s ordeal, several people had come forward and said that they, too, had been set up by Mr. Ramrattan for crimes they did not commit." For instance, one man, who was owed money by Ramrattan's friend, says he was arrested for armed robbery... when he actually was at a trade show at the time (he has a receipt!). Another man, whose wife hired Ramrattan to investigate him, says he was framed for a hit-and-run. (Ramrattan's lawyer claims that man is "a disgruntled subject of an investigation of his marital infidelities.")
The Times goes on:
In the third, and perhaps most bizarre, of the cases, Richard Persaud, 40, a businessman from Queens, told prosecutors that in 1993, he spent six months in prison for attempted murder after Mr. Ramrattan told the police that Mr. Persaud had shot him in the chest with a rifle through the sunroof of his car.
Mr. Persaud said in an interview that he was released from prison after six months after he agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree assault. “I spent six months in jail for a crime I didn’t commit,” he said. “It’s sick. Jerry Ramrattan ruined my life.”
[Ramrattan's lawyer Frank] Kelly said Mr. Persaud’s account was not credible because he had pleaded guilty to a crime.
Mr. Persaud said he did not shoot Mr. Ramrattan. He said he had been framed by Mr. Ramrattan after he warned his cousin, who was in a relationship with Mr. Ramrattan, not to date him.
Mr. Persaud said that his immigrant parents had spent every last penny to defend him, and that his defense lawyer at the time had urged him to accept the plea, or risk spending his life in jail.
As for Seemona Sumasar, Ramrattan's ex who claims he framed her for armed robbery, losing her home and, temporarily, custody of her daughter in the process, she's going to file a civil rights claim. Her lawyer said, "We see this all the time in cases where people are wrongfully convicted. The police have tunnel vision, the prosecutors have tunnel vision — once they lock on, it’s very tough to get them off it. If they had looked at all, they would have seen this couldn’t be true.’’
Tagged
framed
jerry ramrattan
nypd
police
seema sumasar
set up
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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