A man who was jailed for 18 years before being found actually innocent by a state judge has sued New York City for $30 million in damages. In his Southern District lawsuit, Fernando Bermudez charges that the police and prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office failed to investigate obvious leads, withheld exculpatory documents and coerced witnesses. The suit was filed on Feb. 3 by Mr. Burmudez’s lawyer, Michael S. Lamonsoff.
Mr. Bermudez was convicted in 1992 for murdering a teen outside of a Greenwich Village nightclub and was sentenced to at least 23 years in prison. No forensic evidence tied him to the crime and five prosecution witnesses recanted their testimony a year after his trial.
