New York ( CNN ) -- New York City 's comptroller Thursday announced the approval of a $ 40 million civil rights settlement to five black and Hispanic men wrongfully convicted in the horrific beating and rape of a white female jogger in Central Park in 1989 . `` In my judgment , this settlement is a prudent and equitable solution for all parties to the lawsuit and closes a very difficult chapter in our City 's history , '' comptroller Scott Stringer said in a statement . The settlement has to be submitted for approval to Judge Deborah Batts of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan , where the men filed their civil rights lawsuit . Michael Warren , a lawyer for three of the men -- Kevin Richardson , Antron McCray and Raymond Santana Jr. -- said his clients were thrilled with the agreement , which will be formally announced at a news conference on the steps of City Hall on Friday . `` We 're not only elated but very relieved that this process has advanced to the point where these young men can finally begin to move on with their lives , '' Warren told CNN . The settlement closes a dark episode in recent New York City history . The sensational case polarized the city along racial lines and became emblematic of rampant crime . Five minority teenagers , who became known as the Central Park Five , said they were coerced into making incriminating statements , and they were convicted in 1990 . The agreement between the city law department and the five men -- who served between seven and 13 years in prison -- averages about $ 1 million per year of incarceration , a source with knowledge of the settlement told CNN . One of the men , Kharey Wise , served 13 years in prison . Yusef Salaam , Richardson , McCray , and Santana Jr. each served about seven years . On April 19 , 1989 , a 28-year-old Wall Street investment banker jogging through Central Park was raped , viciously beaten and left for dead . She would have no memory of the attack . That same night , a group of black and Latino youths had been in the park , throwing rocks at cars and assaulting people in a practice the media and law enforcement at the time called `` wilding . '' An investigation led to the arrest of five teens who were accused of rampaging through the park in a `` wolf pack '' and preying on innocent victims . They were charged and convicted . `` If they had their way , '' Salaam told CNN in 2012 , `` we would have been hanging from one of those lovely trees here in Central Park . '' The victim , Trisha Meili , kept her identity hidden for 14 years until the publication of her book , `` I Am the Central Park Jogger . '' `` I guess there are lots of theories out there but I just do n't know and it 's almost too confusing for me to understand , '' she told CNN in 2003 , referring to the false confessions given by the five men . `` I 've had to come to peace with it by saying : 'You know what ? I 'm just not going to know . ' '' Three of the convicted young men had finished their prison terms , one was on parole and the fifth was in jail on an unrelated offense when Matias Reyes , a serial rapist and murderer in 2001 confessed to the crime and said he had acted alone . `` After being exonerated , it 's like somebody running free through the ... grass and throwing their hands up and yelling , 'Ah ! ' you know ... the feeling is overjoy and happiness , '' Salaam told CNN . DNA analysis later determined that Reyes was the perpetrator of the rape , and that hair evidence used in the boys ' trials did not match . Robert M. Morgenthau , the Manhattan district attorney at the time , ordered a new investigation and , on his recommendation , a judge vacated the convictions . A civil rights lawsuit filed by the five men accused police and prosecutors of false arrest , malicious prosecution and a racially motivated conspiracy . The administration of former mayor Michael Bloomberg fought the case , but his successor , Bill de Blasio , pledged to settle the suit before taking office .
Five men were wrongfully convicted in infamous Central Park rape case . The 1989 crime polarized New York City along racial lines , and sent five to prison . In 2002 , a serial rapist and murderer confessed to the crime and said he had acted alone . Multi-million-dollar settlement `` closes a very difficult chapter '' in NYC history , comptroller says .