Government ordered to pay $101 million to men wrongly imprisoned

[mawilson 2,133]

BOSTON (AP) - A federal judge Thursday ordered the government to pay more than

$101 million in the case of four men who spent decades in prison for a 1965 murder

they didn't commit after the FBI withheld evidence of their innocence.

The FBI encouraged perjury, helped frame the four men and withheld for more than

three decades information that could have cleared them, U.S. District Judge Nancy

Gertner said.

She called the government's argument that the FBI had no duty to get involved in a

state case ``absurd.''

Peter Limone, Joseph Salvati and the families of the two other men who died in prison

had sued the federal government for malicious prosecution.

They argued that Boston FBI agents knew mob hitman Joseph ``The Animal'' Barboza

lied when he named the men as killers in the 1965 death of Edward Deegan. They said

Barboza was protecting a fellow FBI informant, Vincent ``Jimmy'' Flemmi, who was

involved.

The four men convicted on Barboza's lies were treated as ``acceptable collateral

damage'' because the FBI's priority at the time was taking down the Mafia, their

attorneys said.

A Justice Department lawyer had argued that federal authorities couldn't be held

responsible for the results of a state prosecution and had no duty to share information

with the officials who prosecuted Limone, Salvati, Henry Tameleo and Louis Greco.

"It took 30 years to uncover this injustice, and the government's position is, in a word,

absurd,'' the judge said Thursday.

"No lost liberty is dispensable,'' Gertner told the packed courtroom. "We have fought

wars over this principle. We are still fighting these wars.''

Salvati and Limone were exonerated in 2001 after FBI memos dating back to the

Deegan case surfaced, showing the men had been framed by Barboza. The memos

were made public during a Justice Department task force probe of the FBI's relationship

with gangsters and FBI informants James "Whitey'' Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman''

Flemmi.

Limone and Salvati stared straight ahead as the judge announced her ruling. A gasp

could be heard from the area where their friends and family were sitting when Gertner

said how much the government would be forced to pay.

The men's attorneys had not asked for a specific amount in damages, but in court

documents they cited other wrongful conviction cases in which $1 million was awarded

for every year of imprisonment. Gertner ordered the government to pay $101.7 million.

Justice Department lawyer Bridget Bailey Lipscomb declined immediate comment on

the ruling.

Source

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

As I say - I've seen enough of this sort of thing to be very worried about ever getting on the wrong side of the law here. As this shows - you don't have to have done anything wrong to be "Count of Monte-Cristo'd"

[almaty 19]

they deserve the money..i read enough KBI reports (kansas) to know that allot of folks are there under strange allegations...

[one...two...tree 2,762]

As I say - I've seen enough of this sort of thing to be very worried about ever getting on the wrong side of the law here. As this shows - you don't have to have done anything wrong to be "Count of Monte-Cristo'd"

Indeed. It's shocking.

[lucho562 0]

Does this 101 million come out of taxpayers wallets?

[^KK^ 3]

It's finally JUSTICE

[peejay 327]

As usual...the taxpayer is the one taking this up the a$$. Government? Who the hell is paying for this incompetence?

Too bad the the crooked cops are not the ones footing this huge bill. And I'm sure the lawyers are probably getting 60-70% of the cut too.

This is a cluster #### all around.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

As usual...the taxpayer is the one taking this up the a$$. Government? Who the hell is paying for this incompetence?

Too bad the the crooked cops are not the ones footing this huge bill. And I'm sure the lawyers are probably getting 60-70% of the cut too.

This is a cluster #### all around.

You're right. In the end nobody wins. Just tragic.

[almaty 19]

i agree.. and yes, we are paying for their dishonesty...FBI was looked up too ..when i was small..now, a laughingstock of the government

i agree.. and yes, we are paying for their dishonesty...FBI was looked up too ..when i was small..now, a laughingstock of the government

[Jonesie 1]

Why am I not surprised...corruption, deceit and scandal is very prominent in our "justice" system

[rclouse 0]

Don't worry, Citizen, this is a one time mistake and could never occur in the future.

Please keep your papers in order and up-to-date for the authorities.

[homesick_american 1]

As I say - I've seen enough of this sort of thing to be very worried about ever getting on the wrong side of the law here. As this shows - you don't have to have done anything wrong to be "Count of Monte-Cristo'd"

Yeah; it's not like this never happens in the UK, particularly since they've recently had their first successful post-removal-of-double-jeopardy-protection conviction.

[GaryC 7]

As I say - I've seen enough of this sort of thing to be very worried about ever getting on the wrong side of the law here. As this shows - you don't have to have done anything wrong to be "Count of Monte-Cristo'd"

Yeah; it's not like this never happens in the UK, particularly since they've recently had their first successful post-removal-of-double-jeopardy-protection conviction.

The UK did away with double jepordy? When did this happen and why would they do that?

[homesick_american 1]

As I say - I've seen enough of this sort of thing to be very worried about ever getting on the wrong side of the law here. As this shows - you don't have to have done anything wrong to be "Count of Monte-Cristo'd"

Yeah; it's not like this never happens in the UK, particularly since they've recently had their first successful post-removal-of-double-jeopardy-protection conviction.

The UK did away with double jepordy? When did this happen and why would they do that?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4406129.stm

[GaryC 7]

Wow! I don't like this part also.

The reforms - which also allow hearsay evidence to be admissible in court - come under the new Criminal Justice act.

I can't believe that they would give up any of these protections.