NEW YORK -- "Son of Sam" killer David Berkowitz has reached a settlement with his former attorney, who he sued for allegedly stealing personal property from him, his new attorney Mark Heller said Wednesday.
Berkowitz, 52, now a born-again Christian with his own Web site, sued attorney Hugo Harmatz in June 2005 seeking to get back letters, photos and other items the serial killer had turned over to him for safekeeping.
Among the items Berkowitz said Harmatz had stolen was the killer's last will and testament, bar mitzvah photos and letters to the mother of his last victim.
According to the lawsuit, Harmatz intended to use Berkowitz' property in a book entitled "Dear David."
"This has been a triple victory for David Berkowitz," lawyer Heller said. "Everything that he fought for in the lawsuit was granted and David will be getting back all of his property. No profits from the book will be available to Harmatz, and he has also agreed to discontinue any future book projects or promotions concerning David Berkowitz."
Heller said all "past, present and future" profits from Harmatz' book would be turned over to the State Crime Victims Board. Under the Son of Sam law, proceeds from criminals' book or movie deals must be turned over to the Crime Victims Board and distributed to victims or their relatives.
Berkowitz issued a statement through attorney Heller saying he was "gratified not only in getting back my property but in protecting the victims by assuring that they would be the beneficiaries of any profits generated by Harmatz' book."
The lawyer said Berkowitz was "grateful" to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Sherry Heitler for her "even-handed justice" and in "affording him all the rights and privileges of any plaintiff that would come into Supreme Court despite the fact that (he is) . . . a convicted felon."
For over a year starting in 1976, Berkowitz killed six people and wounded seven others, most of them in parked cars. After his capture in 1977, Berkowitz pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 365 years in prison.
Before his capture, Berkowitz sent strange letters, mentioning "Son of Sam" to newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin and others, whipping up a public frenzy that was depicted in the 1999 Spike Lee movie "Summer of Sam."
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