Freed from jail thanks to DNA evidence, Scott Fappiano back in slammer after massive FBI Mafia bust
A Staten Island man who pocketed a $2 million settlement from the state after DNA evidence got his conviction on charges he raped a cop's wife tossed - was swept up in Thursday's arrests.
Scott Fappiano, 48, who served 21 years in prison still has a pending federal suit against the city which could fetch him another $10 million or more.
He was held without bail after prosecutors said he's a Colombo crime family associate and member of a home invasion crew that also stole proceeds from the sale of a heating oil business.
"He further admitted he had stored some of the tools used in those robberies but destroyed the evidence after (fellow mobsters) were arrested," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Geddes.
Since he was released from prison in 2006, Fappiano has led a troubled life. He was charged with DWI and reckless endangerment for crashing into the rear of a police radio car in Staten Island.
At the time of his arrest he was receiving treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, said defense lawyer Joseph Benfante.
"Scott suffers from emotional scars as a result of his incarceration for a crime he did not commit," Benfante said.
Fappiano, the cousin of mob rat Frank Fappiano, was convicted in 1985 of raping the cop's wife after tying up her husband in their Brooklyn flat. His release was engineered by the Innocence Project after DNA testing of evidence recovered at the crime scene excluded Fappiano.
City lawyers seeking to throw out the federal suit argued that Fappiano has not been exonerated of the crime because the evidence tested was not touched by the assailant.
0 comments:
Post a Comment