Judge overturns convictions of NY "Mafia cops"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday overturned the racketeering convictions of two former New York police detectives accused of murdering for the Mafia, citing the statute of limitations.

The judge denounced retired detectives Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa as "heinous criminals" but said federal prosecutors failed to show their conspiracy continued up until five years before the charges were brought.

The men were each sentenced to life in prison following their three-week trial in March for committing eight murders for the Luchese crime family from 1986 to 1990.

Their lawyers appealed their convictions after U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein expressed concern throughout the case about the "thin connection" between earlier and later crimes contained within their racketeering conspiracy charges.