PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Dozens and dozens of convictions connected to former homicide detective Philip Nordo are under review following his conviction on sexual assault and corruption charges. The ripple effect of his crimes and misconduct is expected to grow substantially — through the city’s criminal justice system, and in federal civil court.
Since the grand jury investigation into the sexual assault accusations against Nordo, the district attorney has overturned five homicide convictions. Another is still pending in the courts.
“We are going to review any bona fide claim that comes before us,” said Mike Garmisa, who leads the office’s Conviction Integrity Unit. Garmisa says they’ve been working on this review since 2018.
“We currently have between two- and three-dozen cases that we are pending review on. We have concluded a review of approximately 60-some-odd cases at this point,” he said.
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He says they do their own investigation: reviewing the record, re-interviewing witnesses, re-testing certain evidence. He says about 40 of the cases are solid, but the office has overturned convictions in a handful already.
Garmisa says the only cases they can look at are the ones where the defendant is still in prison.
“We are only reviewing cases where there is a legal avenue for relief for the defendant,” he said.
There’s also a handful of civil lawsuits that name Nordo in federal court, and most are against the city.
Criminal defense attorneys who have had clients linked to Nordo say they’ve already been contacted by the defendants and will turn over the information to the district attorney’s office.
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