BY CARL MACGOWAN
Newsday Staff Writer
July 1, 2006
Leah Greenwald said she was shocked Friday when she heard that the disgraced cops accused of killing her husband may go free.
“This is horrible,” said Greenwald, of Fresh Meadows. “It’s very upsetting because according to the evidence, they definitely are guilty.”
Former detectives Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa had been convicted of taking part in eight murders for the Lucchese crime family. Brooklyn federal judge Jack Weinstein threw out the racketeering convictions Friday.
A murder tied to the cops was that of Israel Greenwald, a Brooklyn gem merchant, who was believed to have been killed in 1986.
The Greenwald family is suing Eppolito, Caracappa and the city for $500 million. The former detectives and the city have been sued by the families of at least five other victims.
“Judge Weinstein is a wise and careful judge, and although disappointed by his decision, I respect his ruling,” Greenwald’s Manhattan attorney, Benjamin Brafman, said in a statement. “On behalf of the Greenwald family, we will continue to pursue justice for the murder of their father/husband in a civil forum and in any future criminal proceedings at either a state or federal level.”
Michaelangelo Matera, attorney for the family of Edward Lino, who the detectives were accused of killing on Nov. 6, 1992, said he didn’t expect Weinstein’s decision.
“We were extremely shocked by the judge’s decision,” Matera said. “We are looking forward to the appellate process and feel hopeful that the guilty verdicts will be reinstated.”
Greenwald said she hopes Eppolito and Caracappa will end up in prison. “Those guys were free for many years,” she said. “It’s time for them not to be free anymore.”
Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc..
