Altemio Sanchez - Exoneration of Anthony Capozzi

Exoneration of Anthony Capozzi

In March 2007, Anthony Capozzi was freed from state prison after serving 22 years for two rapes with a similar modus operandi. After the arrest of Sanchez, investigators realized that the crimes were similar and took place in the same area and that Sanchez and Capozzi closely resembled each other at the time the crimes were committed. A sample of DNA from Sanchez was linked to the rapes for which Capozzi had been convicted in 1985. Capozzi had maintained his innocence and was thus denied parole. Capozzi, who is schizophrenic, and his attorney have settled a civil lawsuit for $4.25 million. Recently, State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt and State Senator Dale Volker introduced legislation that would expedite such lawsuits. This bill is known as Anthony's Law.

It is believed that a clue in the Capozzi case file led to the arrest of Sanchez. A detective who looked over the case files spotted a report from a woman who had been raped in 1981. Two days later, she told police she spotted the man who had raped her driving away from a local shopping area parking lot, and she took down the license plate number. When detectives questioned Wilfredo Caraballo, the car's owner, he provided a solid alibi for the rape. However, some twenty-five years later Mr. Caraballo was interviewed by the BIKE PATH RAPIST task force and admitted that on the day that the car was identified by the victim he wasn't driving it. Mr. Caraballo had lent the car to his nephew, Altemio Sanchez.