Attorneys for the men blamed a now deceased detective, Joseph Volpe, and other police officers for either falsifying evidence or withholding evidence from prosecutors and the jury. "When a promising initial lead reached a dead end, Volpe, desperate to solve this high-profile crime, planted hairs from the victim's head in John Restivo's van, and deliberately hid evidence that proved their innocence," said Nick Brustin, one of the attorneys for the men. Testimony during the federal civil rights trial also showed that police had kept from both prosecutors and defense attorneys a report about a car stolen the night Fusco went missing.