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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A federal judge has dismissed Angela Ricci's lawsuit against a former Salt Lake City police official she blamed for her late husband wrongfully being labeled a suspect in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping.
Ricci alleged that Cory Mack Lyman, who was a lieutenant and later a captain and was a leader of the kidnapping investigation, blamed Richard Ricci to avoid allegations of incompetence and to "satisfy the public's need to identify a suspect" in the high-profile abduction.
U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart ruled Wednesday that Lyman "did not arrest Mr. Ricci, or provide any input on the conditions of his incarceration."
He said there was no evidence that Lyman, who is now the police chief in Ketchum, Idaho, was responsible for disclosing Ricci's name publicly.
A separate lawsuit against the police department was dismissed last year.
Richard Ricci was arrested on a parole violation and returned to prison nine days after then 14-year-old Elizabeth Smith was kidnapped from her bedroom in June 2002.
He also was facing state charges that he burglarized the Smart home and another in the neighborhood and federal charges of bank robbery.
Ricci confessed to stealing jewelry and other items from the family, but denied having anything to do with the kidnapping. He insisted he was at home asleep at the time of the kidnapping.
He suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage while being held in prison.
On March 12, 2003, Elizabeth Smart was found walking along a suburban street with self-styled prophet Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee, who were both charged in the abduction. They have been deemed incompetent, at this time, to stand trial.
Angela Ricci filed a wrongful death suit against the state Department of Corrections and the police department in 2003, claiming the agencies had unfairly targeted her husband. She reached a $150,000 settlement with Corrections, which denied any wrongdoing.
She could not be reached for comment Wednesday by The Salt Lake Tribune.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
