Prosecutors look to dismiss convictions in '95 arson killing of subway toll booth clerk Harry Kaufman

NEW YORK — Prosecutors are disavowing the convictions of three men who spent decades in prison for one of the most horrifying crimes of New York's violent 1990s — the killing of a clerk who was set on fire in a subway toll booth.

Vincent Ellerbe, James Irons and Thomas Malik confessed to and were convicted of murdering token seller Harry Kaufman in 1995. The case resounded from New York to Washington to Hollywood, after parallels were drawn between the deadly arson and a scene in the movie "Money Train."

But Brooklyn prosecutors now plan to join defense lawyers in asking a judge Friday to dismiss all three men's convictions. The confessions conflicted with evidence at the scene and with each other, and witness identifications were problematic, prosecutors say; some of the men have long said they were coerced into confessing. 

"The horrific murder of Harry Kaufman shocked our city and devastated a loving family, but the findings of an exhaustive, years long reinvestigation of this case leave us unable to stand by the convictions of those charged," District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. "Above all, my obligation is to do justice, and because of the serious problems with the evidence on which these convictions are based, we must move to vacate them and acknowledge the harm done to these men by this failure of our system. My heart aches for the Kaufman family and my office remains resolute in our commitment to seek justice for victims, while ensuring fairness to all." 

Ellerbe, 44, was paroled in 2020, but Malik and Irons, both 45, have remained in prison.

The lead investigators on the case include Det. Louis Scarcella, who identified Ellerbe, Malik and Irons as the suspects. 

A further review found that Scarcella and Det. Stephen Chmil "fed key details" to Irons - then 18 - before Irons said "anything meaningful about" those details, the DA's office said.