Published March 21, 2013
Associated Press
NEW YORK – Prosecutors are expected to ask a judge to free a man convicted in the 1990 killing of a Brooklyn rabbi.
David Ranta is due in court on Thursday afternoon for a judge to take up a defense motion to vacate his conviction. Prosecutors have told the judge they support the request.
Ranta was convicted of murder after Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger was shot on Feb. 8, 1990, by a man fleeing a botched robbery. Thousands attended the funeral for the Hasidic rabbi.
A recent review by the Brooklyn DA's office cast doubt on witness testimony and concluded detectives had mishandled aspects of the investigation.
The 58-year Ranta has been serving time in a Buffalo prison.
