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07/22/08
Judge Robert W. Doyle of the Supreme Court of New York granted the motion by the Attorney General of the State of New York, serving as a special prosecutor, to dismiss all charges against Martin Tankleff in the murders of Seymour and Arlene Tankleff.
Partner Barry J. Pollack, Marty's pro bono lawyer for more than 12 years, said, "Marty Tankleff spent 17 years in prison for crimes that he didn’t commit. As we have fought his legal battles over the years, we have long looked forward to the day that all of the charges against him would be dismissed. We could not be happier that this day has finally arrived."
In dismissing the indictments in the interest of justice, the Court noted that the District Attorney of Suffolk County and the Attorney General's office, after a thorough and independent investigation, both determined that Marty should not be reprosecuted.
In 1988, the Tankleffs were stabbed and beaten to death in their waterfront home in Belle Terre, New York. Martin was wrongfully convicted of the murders and started serving a 50 years to life sentence in 1990. After 17 years, on December 21, 2007, an appellate court in Brooklyn overturned Martin's conviction, ruling the lower court failed properly to evaluate the strength of new evidence that cleared Martin of the crimes and pointed to other suspects.
In January 2008, the Governor of New York appointed New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as special prosecutor to investigate the Tankleffs' murders. The Attorney General empanelled a grand jury to review the evidence and decide whether to re-try Martin's case or pursue a case against other suspects. Martin's defense team has long maintained that the evidence demonstrated that Seymour Tankleff's former business partner, Jerry Steuerman, hired hit men
with extensive criminal records who murdered the Tankleffs. Although Martin has been free on bail since late December 2007, today the court officially cleared his name. Over the years, Martin's defense team led by Barry J. Pollack included Bruce Barket of Garden City, Long Island, Stephen L. Braga now with Ropes & Gray, and Jennifer M. O'Connor of WilmerHale.
Mr. Pollack commented on the case, saying the state had effectively exonerated Marty on June 30, 2008, when the attorney general first moved to dismiss the case. To see that WCSB-TV news story, where Mr. Pollack discusses Marty's innocence, click here.
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Bios of Involved Attorneys:
Barry J. Pollack, Partner |
Dawn Murphy-Johnson, Associate
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