A $4.75 million settlement has been reached in the Court of Claims between New York state and Fernando Bermudez, who served more than 18 years on a Manhattan murder charge that was dismissed in 2009. Bermudez sued under §8-b of the Court of Claims Act, which provides for compensation for people unjustly convicted and imprisoned for crimes.
Bermudez was convicted of second-degree murder in the 1991 shooting of Raymond Blount outside a New York City nightclub. Bermudez’s conviction was dismissed by Supreme Court Justice John Cataldo after the five prosecution witnesses who testified against him recanted (NYLJ, Nov. 13, 2009).
