Confidential informant sues; says prosecutors blew his cover, then blamed him for getting shot
A confidential informant helping New York authorities in a gun probe has filed a civil rights suit against the Brooklyn district attorney’s office, contending that his cover was blown by prosecutors.
A prosecutor allegedly called a man who was a subject of the probe and left a phone message intended for the plaintiff, Pedro Castellano, 34. This alerted the subject to the investigation when he returned the call and realized he had reached the DA’s office, according to Courthouse News. the New York Daily News and the New York Post.
Another prosecutor identified Castellano by name in court as a confidential informant in 2013, in a voice so loud it could be heard in the hallway, the suit contends.
Castellano says he was shot a couple of weeks later by an unknown assailant who called him a rat. Prosecutors blamed him, contended that he had shot himself, and charged him with obstruction; the criminal case was dropped several months ago.
Castellano’s Brooklyn Supreme Court suit seeks unspecified damages from New York City and the King’s County district attorney’s office for alleged negligence, civil rights violations, false arrest and malicious prosecution.
The DA’s office declined to comment, the Post says.
