Santiago Arias

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Charge:	Drug Related (Possession or sale)
Sentence:
Years Imprisoned:	3
Year Crime:	1994
Year Convicted:	1995
Year Cleared:	1997
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Pennsylvania - Federal Case
County or Region of Crime:	Philadelphia
City of Crime:	Philadelphia
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Santiago Arias, Nelson Rosario and Alfredo Perez were codefendants wrongly convicted in 1995 of drug charges in federal court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Arias, Rosario and Perez were arrested in a North Philadelphia rowhouse on December 29, 1994. Police officers from Philadelphia's 39th Police District said they seized $250,000 worth of heroin and crack cocaine. The three pled guilty and were sentenced to federal prison. Arias' conviction was overturned in June 1997 based on new evidence the prosecution failed to disclose prior to his conviction that Philadelphia Police Department narcotics officer John Boucher who was involved in the arrest of Arias, Rosario, and Perez, was "possibly" corrupt and involved in the framing of innocent people. The convictions of Rosario and Perez were overturned on July 10, 1998 based on the same evidence. Rosario was released, but Perez was transfered to Pennsylvania state custody to serve a four year sentence for an unrelated state drug conviction, after which he was to be deported to his native Dominican Republic. After his release Arias, a plumber by trade, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in October 1997 against the city of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia PD and the officers involved in his arrest. Arias who lived in New York and was visiting friends in Philadelphia at the time of his arrest, told reporters when he filed his lawsuit: "What hurts me the most was that I knew all the time I was innocent. The lies that were told about me were the greatest injustice that could have been committed." In July 1998 Philadelphia agreed to settle Arias' lawsuit for $250,000."
Conviction Caused By:	Framed by corrupt Philadelphia police officer.
Innocence Proved By:	"Arias' conviction was overturned in June 1997 based on new evidence that the narcotics officer who arrested Arias, Rosario, and Perez was corrupt and involved in the framing of innocent people. The convictions of Rosario and Perez were overturned in July 1998 based on the same evidence."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$250,000 (City of Philadelphia, July 1998)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	52
Age When Released:	55
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Hispanic
Information Source 1:	"Two Drug Convictions Reversed In Police Probe, By Mark Fazlollah (Inquirer Staff Writer), Philadelpia Inquirer, July 19, 1998"
Information Location 1:	http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n595.a11.html
Information Source 2:	"Plumber contends police framed him, By Associated Press, Reading Eagle, October 30, 1997"
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Santiago Arias

Charge:

Drug Related (Possession or sale)

Sentence:

Years Imprisoned:

3

Year Crime:

1994

Year Convicted:

1995

Year Cleared:

1997

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Pennsylvania - Federal Case

County or Region of Crime:

Philadelphia

City of Crime:

Philadelphia

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Framed by corrupt Philadelphia police officer.

Innocence Proved By:

"Arias' conviction was overturned in June 1997 based on new evidence that the narcotics officer who arrested Arias, Rosario, and Perez was corrupt and involved in the framing of innocent people. The convictions of Rosario and Perez were overturned in July 1998 based on the same evidence."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$250,000 (City of Philadelphia, July 1998)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

52

Age When Released:

55

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic

Information Source 1:

"Two Drug Convictions Reversed In Police Probe, By Mark Fazlollah (Inquirer Staff Writer), Philadelpia Inquirer, July 19, 1998"

Information Location 1:

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v98.n595.a11.html

Information Source 2:

"Plumber contends police framed him, By Associated Press, Reading Eagle, October 30, 1997"

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Book About Case:

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Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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