The Marshall Project

Fake Innocence

A lawyer’s scheme to stage a phony exoneration and cash in.

A veteran Queens lawyer nicknamed "Mighty Whitey" drummed up a mighty sinister scheme to subvert the criminal justice system and make millions in the process, authorities allege.

Scott Brettschneider plotted to pay a murder witness to recant his trial testimony as part of an audacious scam to free a convicted killer and rake in big bucks from a wrongful conviction suit, prosecutors say.

The scheme apparently fizzled out — but the very prospect troubles advocates who help the wrongfully convicted in their

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