By Rudy Moralez
Journalism Guild Writer
New York City has agreed to pay $5.3 million to the families of two inmates who died at Rikers Island jail, Reuters reported.
The settlement was announced in November by Nick Paolucci, spokesman for the city law department.
It provides $3.8 million to the family of Jason Echevarria, 25, who died after guards allegedly ignored his pleas for medical help after he ingested a toxic “soap ball” used to clean cells.
The family of Carlos Mercado, who died of diabetes complications within hours of arriving at the jail in June 2013, received $1.5 million.
The announcement came five months after a federal judge sentenced a former guard to five years in prison for deliberately ignoring Echevarria’s medical problem.