BUFFALO - Anthony J. Capozzi has been in prison since his 1985 arrest for two rapes. Now investigators looking into a series of attacks with possible ties to the so-called Bike Path Rapist say they have doubts about Capozzi's guilt.

The suspicions follow the indictment this month of Altemio Sanchez, 49, on three counts of second-degree murder. Two of the charges relate to the death of a 22-year-old University at Buffalo student who was raped and murdered along a bike path near campus in 1990. The third charge involves the 1992 rape and killing of a 32-year-old single mother from Buffalo. Sanchez pleaded innocent.

Investigators told the Buffalo News that they now believe the Bike Path Rapist, now suspected in 10 attacks, could be responsible for as many as 17 attacks over the past 30 years, including the two that put Capozzi in prison.

Detectives say that the circumstances surrounding the bike path attacks are so similar to the 1983 and 1984 rapes around Buffalo's Delaware Park that prosecutors should re-examine the conviction of Capozzi, a mentally disabled man who has maintained his innocence. Capozzi, 50, also looked somewhat like Sanchez decades ago.

“I'm convinced that Capozzi did not do these rapes,” Buffalo Detective Dennis Delano told the newspaper. “What I'm trying to do now is convince others.”

The six investigators said they have no physical evidence that could definitively exonerate Capozzi. But they feel the case merits further investigation.

“The similarities between the bike path crimes and the Delaware Park rapes are so close that they definitely deserve a second look, from both the task force and the district attorney's office,” said Lt. Steven A. Nigrelli of the state police.

Prosecutors plan to review his case, but Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark said it would be difficult to overturn the conviction given the lack of any DNA or physical evidence.