Fred Weichel wins civil suit over wrongful conviction in connection with 1980 Braintree homicide
Mob enforcer provided alibi for man originally charged in murder
Mob enforcer provided alibi for man originally charged in murder
Mob enforcer provided alibi for man originally charged in murder
Jurors awarded $33 million on Tuesday to a man who spent nearly 36 years in prison for a murder he insists he did not commit but under Massachusetts law, he is only eligible to receive $1 million.
Fred Weichel served time in prison for the 1980 murder of Robert Lamonica in Braintree.
Weichel was released in 2017 after a police report that was never handed over surfaced, suggesting someone else could have committed the crime. Weichel was 28 when he was arrested. Now, he's 70.
Even though Weichel was released in 2017 and prosecutors decided not to try him again, he had to prove he was innocent of the murder and any other related offenses.
He sued the state, saying he had been threatened by former South Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger to stay quiet about the murder of Lamonica. In the civil trial, the state had tried to paint Weichel as involved in the murder.
Weichel has maintained his innocence for decades and he was largely stoic in court as the jury's verdict was announced just after 3 p.m.
On Monday, Kevin Weeks, Bulger's right-hand man, took the stand in the case.
Weeks was friendly with both Weichel and Lamonica. Weeks testified that "Jim Bulger didn't really care for Freddy."
Weeks further testified that on the night of the murder, he saw Weichel in Triple O's, the South Boston bar that was Bulger's hangout and where Weeks worked as a bouncer.
Weeks talked about a conversation he had with Weichel a few days after Lamonica was killed.
"What did Mr. Weichel say to you during that conversation?" he was asked on the stand.
"'It wasn't me,'" Weeks replied. "And I knew it wasn't him because he was in the bar."
"[Tuesday's] verdict is a result of our state statute that appropriately allows for eligible plaintiffs to bring their case before a jury for a final determination. We will continue to handle these cases in a way that is fair and consistent with the law," a spokeswoman for Attorney General Maura Healey said.
When the Massachusetts Legislature enacted the erroneous conviction law in 2004, it put very specific limits on who is eligible to seek damages and what they need to prove. According to the Attorney General's Office, the law requires claimants to prove to a jury that they are actually innocent by showing "clear and convincing" evidence.
In cases where the eligibility requirements have been met and the plaintiff's innocence is clear, the Attorney General's Office will settle the claim. Since 2018, the AG's Office has settled 13 cases totaling more than $8.4 million in compensation. Plaintiffs have also received relief in the form of considerable services like housing assistance, MassHealth coverage and free tuition at an in-state college or university.
According to the Attorney General's Office, erroneous conviction cases proceed to a jury trial when the eligibility requirements have been met but the plaintiff's innocence is not clear.