A man wrongly imprisoned for 18 years now wants the city to pay.
Fernando Bermudez, who will answer questions today at a downtown press conference, said the city robbed him of half his life.
In a lawsuit filed Feb. 3, he accused the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office of misconduct and negligence, saying their shoddy prosecution landed him in jail at age 22. He did not get out until he was 40.
In 1991, Bermudez was found guilty of murdering Raymond Blount, who was killed near Union Square. Bermudez was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison.
Nearly two decades later, in 2009, a judge overturned his conviction, ruling that five key witnesses for the prosecution were coerced into lying about identifying Bermudez as the killer.
All five recanted a year after his conviction, but Bermudez still fought 11 appeals to get out of jail.
His lawyer said he wants to be compensated for the 18 years he lost in prison.
