New York ( CNN ) -- A man whose murder conviction was overturned after he served 22 years in prison will receive a $ 6.4 million settlement from New York City , according to attorneys on the case . David Ranta , 60 , who was imprisoned for the killing of a Brooklyn rabbi in 1990 , was granted the settlement this week before his claim against the city was even filed in federal court , his attorney Pierre Sussman said Thursday . New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer settled the pre-litigation claim for wrongful conviction and imprisonment in response to a $ 150 million claim that Ranta filed last year , according to a statement from his office . `` After a review process and negotiations , my office was able to reach a settlement with Mr. Ranta that is in the best interests of all parties and closes the door on a truly regrettable episode in our City 's history , '' Stringer said in a prepared statement . According to New York City law , the comptroller has the authority to settle claims against the city , the statement said . `` It is such a significant case , '' said Sussman , who said he believes the quick settlement is a testament to the weakness of the city 's defense against the suit . `` This is the first time in an exoneration case that a settlement has been reached without the claim making it to the city 's law department , '' he added . Sussman said Ranta still plans a lawsuit against the state . Ranta was freed from prison in March 2013 but suffered a heart attacked the day after his release . His attorney said Ranta looks forward to the stability the settlement will provide as he continues to get medical treatment for his heart condition . Ranta 's second-degree murder conviction stemmed from the 1990 killing of Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger during a diamond heist . A witness two decades later came forward and said he had been coached to identify Ranta from a police lineup . After an investigation , prosecutors recommended that Ranta 's conviction be tossed out . Since Ranta 's trial , another man 's widow has identified her now-dead husband as the killer ; a onetime jail inmate has said he made up statements about Ranta to boost his own fortunes ; and the man who , as a boy , picked him out of a lineup has come forward to say a detective coached him . Prosecutors have determined the evidence underpinning Ranta 's conviction `` has been degraded to such an extent '' that it would no longer support the verdict , John O'Mara , the deputy district attorney in charge of Brooklyn 's conviction integrity unit , said in March 2013 . When detectives questioned him , Ranta initially denied any involvement in the killing , but he then acknowledged knowing Alan Bloom , a man facing trial on his own robbery charges who gave Ranta 's name to police , according to prosecutors . He later admitted he had been near the scene of the crime and that he knew his friends had planned a holdup . Then he admitted he had been involved in planning the diamond heist , acted as the lookout and had seen Bloom and another jailed witness , Dmitry Drikman , with a gun . Ranta insists that he was framed by police and that detectives coached the witnesses against him . `` No way that happened , '' said Louis Scarcella , one of the detectives who investigated the case . He told CNN last year that Ranta admitted his involvement in the heist attempt and that he stands by the arrest . Upon Ranta 's exoneration in March 2013 , his attorney told CNN , `` The detective work that was done on this case was at best shoddy and at worst criminal . And I do n't use that word lightly . But when a closer examination is done of the detective work ... it becomes clear that there were so many leads that were n't followed , there were so many notes that were n't taken and just a general lack of attention to an investigation that required nothing but close scrutiny of the scene , of witnesses and so forth . That did n't happen . '' About 50 cases in the District Attorney 's Criminal Investigation Unit handled by Scarcella came under review after Ranta 's second-degree murder conviction was tossed out . Scarcella retired from the New York Police Department before the investigations began . CNN 's Laura Ly , Mary Snow , Matt Smith , Catherine E. Shoichet and Allie Malloy contributed to this report .
David Ranta served nearly 22 years for a Brooklyn rabbi 's killing . New York City has agreed to pay him $ 6.4 million for his wrongful conviction . Comment: