Calvin Buari - Overwhelming Evidence
Buari, Calvin; murder; NRE: perjury/false accusation, prosecutor misconduct, police officer misconduct, withheld exculpatory evidence, misconduct that is not withholding evidence, knowingly permitting perjury, witness tampering or misconduct interrogating co-defendant; "OVERWHELMING"
[819:850]; Bronx Cty. Ct. 4/10/06; motion to vacate denied
Two brothers had been shot to death while sitting in their BMW. Everyone who was there at the time (including alleged perpetrator and witnesses) "had some type of criminal background"; many were drug dealers.
"[Buari alleges that] he was denied a fair trial...because...the [prosecution] failed to disclose that a witness had a pending criminal case, allowed that witness to perjure himself, and relied on that testimony; there is newly discovered evidence in that is reasonable to conclude that one of the [prosecution] witnesses committed the murders for which [Buari] was convicted because he committed a murder in a similar fashion at the same location less than two years later, attempted to murder [Buari], and had a motive to commit the murders and frame [Buari]; and there is newly discovered evidence in that two of the [prosecution] witnesses signed affidavits stating that they lied at trial, one of the witnesses (Dwight Robinson) admitted committing the murders, and other witnesses stated that Mr. Robinson committed the murders, and another individual filed an affidavit stating that Mr. Robinson confessed to him."
Robinson claimed that he and others were bullied into signing above affidavits etc. Court denied motion because it found two of Buari's witnesses 'incredible.'
[856:81] Appellate Division affirms above denial of motion to vacate
"...given the overwhelming evidence of [Buari's] guilt..."
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New York Law Journal, 2/4/19: "Scarcella Sequel in Bronx Demands DA's Action"
"[Detectives Frank] Viggiano and [Stanley] Schiffmann ...were also responsible for the conviction of Calvin Buari, another recent exoneree whose case involved subornation of perjury and suppression of exculpatory evidence."
[The latter also occurred in Nickel's case -- see buried evidence. ]
from NRE synopsis (by Maurice Possley): "In October 1995, Buari went to trial in Bronx County...after rejecting a prosecution offer to plead guilty in return for a three-year prison term. Several rival drug dealers testified for the prosecution and identified Buari as the gunman. No physical evidence linked Buari to the crime.
"On October 30, 1995, the jury convicted Buari of two counts of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 50 years to life* in prison."
[* Note that this sentence was some seventeen (+) times more severe than the plea offer.]
"In 2003, Buari filed a post-conviction motion...The defense presented a prisoner who testified that Robinson had confessed to him that he killed two men and that another man was wrongly convicted of the crime. Another witness who testified at Buari's trial-- Kinto Effort -- testified that he falsely identified Buari as the gunman. Effort testified that the prosecution threatened him with being charged with the murders unless he identified Buari as the gunman." [Trial judge denied motion.]
"In 2015, Buari filed a motion to vacate his conviction based on evidence from three new witnesses, all of whom testified at an evidentiary hearing in 2017.
"Kimberlia Clarke testified that she lived in a second floor apartment next to the Soup Bowl restaurant [outside of which the murders took place]. She said she heard gunshots and looked out her window. She recognized the gunman as Robinson because she frequently saw him dealing drugs on the corner. Clarke said she told police she had not seen the gunman because she was afraid of retaliation. She said she moved away not long after the shooting, and that she reached out to Buari's private investigator after learning through social media that Buari had been convicted.
"Clarke's sister, Nakia, testified that she was sitting on the steps in front of the building when the shooting occurred right in front of her. She recognized Robinson as the gunman, she said. She never spoke to anyone about the shooting and moved away almost immediately.
"Caroline Brown testified that not long before the shooting, she was standing on the street about a half block away when she saw Buari and asked him for a light for her cigarette. She said Buari handed her a lighter. When gunshots erupted, Buari yelled, 'Run!' and Brown ran into her apartment.
"Later, when the police were still on the scene of the shooting, Brown said she came back out to go to a bodega. She saw Buari among the crowd of onlookers and returned his lighter. Brown testified that she did not know Buari had been convicted until she read a news article about the case in 2017. She then contacted Buari's legal team.
"In May 2017, Bronx...Justice Eugene Oliver Jr. granted Buari's motion for a new trial and vacated his convictions. Judge Oliver said the new witnesses provided 'direct and straightforward' accounts. On May 8, 2017, Buari was released on bond pending a retrial.
"On March 21, 2018, the prosecution dismissed the charges."*
[* Therefore, the prosecution left Buari 'hanging' for more than ten months. ]
"On December 28, 2018, Buari filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court seeking unspecified damages against the City of New York, [the NYPD], several police officers, and prosecutors and investigators with the Bronx [DA's] office. That case was settled in 2021, and Buari received $4 million.
"Buari subsequently filed a claim for compensation in the New York Court of Claims and settled for $3,750,000."
[All emphases added unless otherwise noted.]
