$43 million verdict against Nassau County upheld by appeals court

Posted

A federal appeals court last week upheld a 2014 jury verdict against Nassau County that awarded more than $43 million to two men who were wrongfully convicted of the 1984 rape and murder of a Lynbrook teenager and spent nearly 18 years in prison.

The U.S. Second Circuit Court in Manhattan upheld a ruling that found that the rights of John Restivo and Dennis Halstead were violated by former Nassau County homicide Det. Joseph Volpe, who is now deceased. The findings claim that Volpe planted and withheld evidence in the case.

Restivo, Halstead and another man, John Kogut, were convicted of the 1984 rape and murder of 16-year-old Theresa Fusco, but were exonerated in 2003 after the discovery of new DNA evidence. Kogut originally confessed to the crime, but it was rescinded in a retrial. He was excluded from the suit against the county.

The 2014 ruling found that Restivo and Halstead “suffered grave harm from their 18 years of wrongful incarceration.” In 2006, they filed a federal civil rights suit against the county, claiming the police department fabricated evidence, buried leads, and lied to prosecutors, judges and juries.

Their lawyer, Anna Benvenutti Hoffmann, urged the county to pay Restivo and Halstead for their suffering rather than delaying it with appeals.

“We hope Nassau County will finally stop their strategy of delay,” Benvenutti Hoffmann said in a release. “Nassau County has spent millions on attorneys fighting this lawsuit while Mr. Restivo and Mr. Halstead — despite 18 years of wrongful incarceration and over 10 years of litigation — have yet to receive a nickel from Nassau County. They deserve to be paid right away.”