ONE OF THE FIVE men whose convictions were thrown out in the infamous Central Park jogger rape case says he's still waiting for an apology for being imprisoned for nearly seven years.
Yusef Salaam insists the police, prosecutors and media are all responsible for blaming him for one of the most wrenching and racially divisive crimes in city history.
But there is one man in particular who Salaam says should ask for his forgiveness.
"One of the first individuals who needs to apologize is a person like Donald Trump," Salaam told the Daily News in an exclusive interview. "He called for the death penalty to be reinstated, specifically for the crimes we were accused of."
The billionaire real-estate tycoon took out full-page advertisements in the city's four major newspapers less than two weeks after the April 19, 1989, rape. "BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!" blared the ads, which cost Trump $85,000.
Yusef Salaam insists the police, prosecutors and media are all responsible for blaming him for one of the most wrenching and racially divisive crimes in city history.
But there is one man in particular who Salaam says should ask for his forgiveness.
"One of the first individuals who needs to apologize is a person like Donald Trump," Salaam told the Daily News in an exclusive interview. "He called for the death penalty to be reinstated, specifically for the crimes we were accused of."
The billionaire real-estate tycoon took out full-page advertisements in the city's four major newspapers less than two weeks after the April 19, 1989, rape. "BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!" blared the ads, which cost Trump $85,000.
"No one has come forward to say, 'We apologize,' " said Salaam, 32, whose lawsuit against the city is inching toward a possible settlement. "I never went to my prom. I never got to do the things that normal people do. I spent my formative years in prison."
In 2002, Salaam and four other men - who had been cast by authorities as rampaging black and Hispanic youths - saw a Manhattan judge vacate their convictions in connection with the jogger rape and a string of other beatings in the park that day.
The ruling came after a convicted murderer and rapist, Matias Reyes, confessed, telling investigators in brutal detail how he had used a tree branch to club the 28-year-old investment banker in the head before dragging her into the bushes at 102nd St. and raping her.
In 2002, Salaam and four other men - who had been cast by authorities as rampaging black and Hispanic youths - saw a Manhattan judge vacate their convictions in connection with the jogger rape and a string of other beatings in the park that day.
The ruling came after a convicted murderer and rapist, Matias Reyes, confessed, telling investigators in brutal detail how he had used a tree branch to club the 28-year-old investment banker in the head before dragging her into the bushes at 102nd St. and raping her.
DNA clincher
DNA and other evidence linked Reyes to the attack, while evidence against Salaam and the four other men was discredited. Unlike the other suspects - Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Kharey Wise - Salaam never confessed on videotape.
Reyes, then 18, also had raped a woman in the park two days before, but cops didn't publicly connect the crimes until after his confession.
Still, an NYPD panel commissioned to investigate the handling of the case by cops failed to exonerate Salaam and the four other suspects. The panel cleared cops of allegedly coercing the teens' confessions.
It also argued that Salaam, McCray, Richardson, Santana and Wise had indeed robbed, threatened or assaulted at least nine people in the park prior to the rape of the jogger, despite the judge's ruling.
"It is more likely that the defendants participated in an attack upon the jogger than they did not," the panel, comprised primarily of lawyers and former cops, concluded.
Asked by The News if he had been in Central Park when the jogger was raped, Salaam, under the advice of his attorney, Myron Beldock, would not answer.
But his mother, Sharonne Salaam, far angrier than her subdued son, spoke up. "I have never known it to be a crime to be in a park anywhere in the city," she said. "A white female was assaulted and something had to be done. Someone had to pay."
DNA and other evidence linked Reyes to the attack, while evidence against Salaam and the four other men was discredited. Unlike the other suspects - Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Kharey Wise - Salaam never confessed on videotape.
Reyes, then 18, also had raped a woman in the park two days before, but cops didn't publicly connect the crimes until after his confession.
Still, an NYPD panel commissioned to investigate the handling of the case by cops failed to exonerate Salaam and the four other suspects. The panel cleared cops of allegedly coercing the teens' confessions.
It also argued that Salaam, McCray, Richardson, Santana and Wise had indeed robbed, threatened or assaulted at least nine people in the park prior to the rape of the jogger, despite the judge's ruling.
"It is more likely that the defendants participated in an attack upon the jogger than they did not," the panel, comprised primarily of lawyers and former cops, concluded.
Asked by The News if he had been in Central Park when the jogger was raped, Salaam, under the advice of his attorney, Myron Beldock, would not answer.
But his mother, Sharonne Salaam, far angrier than her subdued son, spoke up. "I have never known it to be a crime to be in a park anywhere in the city," she said. "A white female was assaulted and something had to be done. Someone had to pay."
$50M a head
Salaam and the four other defendants, who served between five and 13 1/2 years behind bars, have filed federal lawsuits against the city, seeking $50 million each.
Beldock wouldn't talk in depth about Salaam's pending lawsuit. But a source close to the matter said the possibility of a settlement has been discussed.
Though a resolution isn't imminent, according to the source, Beldock said: "We're at a critical point."
Salaam and the four other defendants, who served between five and 13 1/2 years behind bars, have filed federal lawsuits against the city, seeking $50 million each.
Beldock wouldn't talk in depth about Salaam's pending lawsuit. But a source close to the matter said the possibility of a settlement has been discussed.
Though a resolution isn't imminent, according to the source, Beldock said: "We're at a critical point."
Salaam could use the money
Since his release from prison, he has had trouble finding steady work, he told The News.
A divorced father of three, he said he's lived through the shame of having to register temporarily as a convicted sex offender and still has chilling flashbacks of inmates threatening to kill him because they believed he had raped the jogger.
He earned his GED and associate's degree behind bars, but said he has been turned away from jobs because of his conviction. He now lives in Harlem and owns an computer consulting company.
"I could have gone to MIT," he said. "I could have been a top programmer. Instead, I was thrown into the belly of the beast.
"I need to be compensated," he said of the unresolved lawsuit. "There's nothing like not being able to take care of your family."
Salaam said he sees his former co-defendants occasionally and at times considers leaving the city. Determined not to run away, he's sticking it out for now - but rarely goes to Central Park.
"It's a fearful thing," he said. "It brings back a lot of bad memories. To me, it represents all those years that I'll never get back."
Since his release from prison, he has had trouble finding steady work, he told The News.
A divorced father of three, he said he's lived through the shame of having to register temporarily as a convicted sex offender and still has chilling flashbacks of inmates threatening to kill him because they believed he had raped the jogger.
He earned his GED and associate's degree behind bars, but said he has been turned away from jobs because of his conviction. He now lives in Harlem and owns an computer consulting company.
"I could have gone to MIT," he said. "I could have been a top programmer. Instead, I was thrown into the belly of the beast.
"I need to be compensated," he said of the unresolved lawsuit. "There's nothing like not being able to take care of your family."
Salaam said he sees his former co-defendants occasionally and at times considers leaving the city. Determined not to run away, he's sticking it out for now - but rarely goes to Central Park.
"It's a fearful thing," he said. "It brings back a lot of bad memories. To me, it represents all those years that I'll never get back."
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