A Man Who Wrongfully Spent 14 Years in Prison Files a Federal Lawsuit
A Pennsylvania man who spent nearly 14 years in prison in a deadly 1993 fire before winning a new trial and having the charges against him dropped has filed a federal lawsuit against a prosecutor and two former police officers involved in his case.
Daniel Carnevale, 58, alleges malicious prosecution, fabrication of evidence and civil conspiracy on the part of a deputy Allegheny County district attorney and the former Pittsburgh homicide detectives who now work as investigators for the DA’s office. The lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court alleges fabrication and withholding of evidence and accuses the defendants of “orchestrating the use of false testimony.”
“Mr. Carnevale’s conviction was part of the disturbing resurrection of a tragic fire that occurred some 13 years prior, where there was no reliable evidence that the fire was caused by arson, let alone that it was intentionally set by Mr. Carnevale,” the suit said.
