NYC agrees to record $9.9 million settlement to man framed by ‘Mafia cop’ in hooker killing
By APThursday, June 3, 2010
Record settlement for NY man framed by ‘Mafia cop’
NEW YORK — An innocent man framed by a police detective who doubled as killer for the mob has won a $9.9 million settlement from New York City.
The settlement announced Thursday set a record for a civil rights lawsuit against New York City. The previous high — $8 million — was paid to a man left paralyzed when he was shot by a police officer in 1999.
Sixty-one-year-old Barry Gibbs spent 19 years behind bars in the 1988 slaying of a prostitute. He was freed in 2005 after a key witness claimed New York detective Louis Eppolito had coerced him into wrongfully identifying Gibbs as a suspect.
Eppolito and his partner were convicted in April 2006 on charges they moonlighted as professional hit men. A jury found them responsible for eight murders. Both are serving life sentences.
