it all happened in front of this building in brooklyn, after a thief tried and failed to rob a diamond courier who sped away. the robber then turned his gun on a beloved rabbi who was shot through his car window and died four days later. the community was in anguish. and the nypd was under pressure. a massive effort followed to find the rabbi s killer. the investigation dragged on for six months. the lead detective at the time was louis scarcilla, a man known to use unorthodox tactics to get his man. then a major break in the case. a key witness came forward, a 13-year-old neighbor of the rabbi, on his way to school that morning, a teen named menachem lieberman saw a suspicious looking man in a car around the time of the shooting. eventually, police honed in on
without a doubt. i believed he was framed then. my concerns about that have never wavered. yes, he was framed. reporter: there has always been the question of ranta s supposed confession after the crime. when he was arrested, detectives said he admitted to being at the scene of the crime, but not the shooter, only that wasn t recorded. but written down on paper by detective louis scarcilla, ranta says that s wrong that he didn t admit to anything. he said he never confessed. ma am, all i have to say is i stand by my confession, the confession that i took. reporter: there are investigators who are saying rules were broken. yep. ma am, i didn t do anything wrong. i stand by my investigation. reporter: the brooklyn district attorney did not stand by the investigation and today, a judge agreed. sir, you are free to go. reporter: in an interview ranta gave the new york times this week as his release was
rabbi, on his way to school that morning, a teen named menachem lieberman saw a suspicious looking man in a car around the time of the shooting. eventually, police honed in on david ranta and he was brought in for a lineup. the 13-year-old lieberman identified ranta as the man in the car. at trial, alleged accomplices of ranta s testified that he had killed the rabbi. he was found guilty of second degree murder and has been in prison ever since with all hopes of appeal failed. that is until two years ago, when lieberman revealed a secret, something that only he knew and that had been weighing on him for over 20 years. he admitted in an affidavit that he was coached, told by an nypd detective to pick the guy with the big nose. more troubling allegations emerged. michael baum was david ranta s original lawyer. you believe he was framed? without a doubt. without a doubt.
or is there anything you would want to tell him now that he s released? i just feel that i was set up as a kid and i just wanted to do my part, what needs to be justice, i give it over to the d.a. s office and i guess at the end of the day, the whole case fell apart. i appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. thank you. you re welcome. one final note on the lead detective in the case. you already heard detective scarcilla say he stands by his investigation. earlier tonight i asked david ranta s attorney for his reaction. they had everything to do with how this case progressed. the real killer in this case, the one responsible for the rabbi s murder, died within a year after the crime.
david ranta today. thank you, your honor. reporter: this was david ranta in 1990, when he was arrested for a murder he didn t commit, and sentenced to 37 and a half years behind bars. it all happened in front of this building in brooklyn, after a thief tried and failed to rob a diamond courier who sped away. the robber then turned his gun on a beloved rabbi who was shot through his car window and died four days later. the community was in anguish. and the nypd was under pressure. a massive effort followed to find the rabbi s killer. the investigation dragged on for six months. the lead detective at the time was louis scarcilla, a man known to use unorthodox tactics to get his man. then a major break in the case. a key witness came forward, a