The families of men and women who died by suicide while they were held in the Cumberland County Jail are still waiting for proceeds from settlements made years ago after the attorney who represented them allegedly provided the court with “incomplete” records of the agreements.
Conrad J. Benedetto, the attorney who arranged a majority of the settlements, is in federal prison for tax fraud in an unrelated case, court records show.
The settlements, which totaled more than $2.3 million, stemmed from seven federal lawsuits involving claims of negligence and, in some cases, criminal conduct by jail employees before people held at the jail died by suicide. Benedetto represented all seven of the families who sued, according to newspaper articles and court documents.