The attorney who allegedly ripped off David “Son of Sam” Berkowitz’s most cherished possessions used them in a self-published book he’s “hawking” over the Internet, the serial killer’s lawyer charged yesterday.
Hugo Harmatz is selling the book, “Dear David,” on about 24 Web sites, including Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, eBay and Wal-Mart, said Mark Jay Heller, the lawyer representing Berkowitz in his lawsuit against Harmatz.
Berkowitz, 52, sued Harmatz last year for allegedly stealing his possessions, including his bar mitzvah pictures, last will and testament, college papers, parole-hearing decisions and commitment papers.
The book, consisting mostly of letters written to Berkowitz, ranges in price from about $18 to $40. And, for an extra $15, Harmatz will give the buyer an autographed copy, Heller said.
“[It’s] a gross exploitation of the victims that had suffered over 29 years ago from the ‘Son of Sam’ terror. And it’s this exploitation that David Berkowitz finds so repulsive,” Heller said yesterday.
Heller met with Harmatz’s lawyer and Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Sherry Heitler, who ordered Harmatz and the jailed serial killer to be in court on July 17 and 18 to answer questions at a deposition.
If Heitler suspects a crime may have been committed, she can refer the matter to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for potential prosecution of Harmatz.
Meanwhile, Neysa Moskowitz, the mother of Berkowitz’s final murder victim, Stacy Moskowitz, skewered Harmatz.
“He’s a pig. It’s disgusting what he did. And he knows it’s disgusting. He’s trying to profit off Berkowitz,” Moskowitz told The Post.
Moskowitz then threw her support behind Berkowitz in his quest to compensate his victims’ families under the state’s “Son of Sam” law, which prevents criminals from profiting from their crimes.
The law was named after Berkowitz, who called himself “Son of Sam” during his 1970s shooting rampage that left six dead and several others wounded.
“It seems like he’s trying to do a little atonement for his sins,” she said. Harmatz and his attorney, Kevin Conway, did not return calls for comment.