13 alibi witnesses, 20 years in prison — and now, freedom

13 alibi witnesses, 20 years in prison — and now, freedom

Both his lawyers and prosecutors now agree his then-attorneys didn't do enough to track down Rosario's alibi witnesses and enlist them in his defense.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark agreed to recommend dismissing his conviction, but not the charges themselves, while she reinvestigates the killing of 17-year-old Jorge Collazo, also called George Collazo.

Rosario's attorneys called his case an illustration of unreliable eyewitness testimony, bungled defense and the difficulty of fighting a guilty verdict.

Rosario, now 40, was arrested after two witnesses identified him from a police photo book as the man who'd shot Collazo in the head after an exchange of words on a Bronx street on June 19, 1996.

After phoning the witnesses proved difficult, his initial attorney, Joyce Hartsfield, got a judge's OK to pay to send a private investigator to Florida but then never dispatched the investigator, according to a 2010 appeals court decision.

Hartsfield didn't immediately respond to phone and email messages.