NYC settles last of lawsuits in 'Mafia Cops' case
Barry Gibbs, right, a man who was wrongly jailed in a case investigated by "Mafia Cop" former NYPD detective Louis Eppolito, speaks with Anna Lino, left, and Vincent Lino, second from left, outside Brooklyn Federal Courthouse on June 5, 2006. Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
The New York City law department announced Friday that it has settled the last of seven lawsuits brought by the survivors of victims of the so-called Mafia Cops, the two rogue NYPD detectives who were convicted of being on the payroll of the mob two decades ago.
The city said it paid out a total of $18.4 million to settle claims in federal court in Brooklyn that Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa helped engineer, and in some cases carry out, hits for the mob.
The recoveries included $5 million for survivors of mistaken-identity victim Nicholas Guido, $5 million for the family of diamond dealer Israel Greenwald, and sums from $1 million to $2 million for victims with mob ties.
"These settlements bring to a close incidents that occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s involving two rogue detectives acting at the behest of organized crime," law department spokesman Nicholas Paolucci said in a statement. "In light of court rulings during the litigation, it was in the City's best interest to settle these cases."
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