The family of a Brooklyn father who spent two decades behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit have hit the city and controversial former NYPD Det. Louis Scarcella with a $15 million lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court.
David Ranta was freed last year after his conviction for the slaying of Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger in 1990 was tossed. He sued and the city quickly agreed to a $6.4 million payout to Ranta for his wrongful conviction.
Now Ranta’s ex -wife, Patricia, daughter Priscilla and son Nicholas have filed their own suit, claiming they lost the vital companionship of their family head and that the city and Scarcella should pay for their suffering.
“Plaintiffs were branded as the family of a murderer and deprived of the love and affection of their husband and father and have suffered their own independent injuries,” the suit states. “Defendants’ systematic misconduct caused Plaintiffs to suffer a tragic deprivation of a husband and father who will never be the same.”
In addition to Scarcella, the suit also names Det. Stephen Chmil and accuses him of fabricating evidence and coaching witnesses in the case with his partner.
Werzberger was killed during the bungled robbery of a jewelry courier in Williamsburg. The assailant saw him warming up his car near the scene of the stickup and shot him in the head.
More than 50 cases that Scarcella handled are being investigated by the new Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson.
The former cop has denied any wrongdoing.