A gentleman from New York spent two decades behind bars for crimes he didn't perpetrate, namely two homicides. He asserts that his imprisonment significantly improved his life.
He stared at the colossal concrete barrier of the Green Haven Correctional Facility and took a deep breath. It had only been a few short weeks since he was on the other side of these walls.
However, on this particular June 2017 visit, he wasn't an inmate. He was a budding entrepreneur, escorting an elderly woman to visit her grandson behind bars.
The month prior, Buari had walked out of the prison in Stormville, New York, a free man after years of relentlessly battling to overturn a wrongful conviction for a double homicide. He established Ryderz Van Service - a company he deems as the "Uber for prison visits" - immediately upon acquiring his driver's license.
On that extraordinary day, his first journey back to the prison since his liberation, he interacted with the correctional officers and distributed business cards.
"It was like having an out-of-body experience, standing on the other side of that wall," he admits now. "I wanted to do something to preserve those family ties, as I'm aware of their importance while incarcerated."
"That grandmother ... she couldn't drive, she was elderly. She was the only connection he had outside of prison."
The compact VW was a stark contrast to the black BMW Buari formerly drove as a drug dealer in the Bronx during the 1990s. His attire - a T-shirt, pants, and black fedora - bore no resemblance to the extravagant mink coat and matching brown hat he wore to peddle crack cocaine to his buyers.
But he was a free man. And he was focused on rebuilding his life.
That prison visit – approximately 90 minutes north of New York City – was the first of many as Buari's business thrived.Each day he drove to the prison, he reflected on how swiftly one's liberty could vanish.
"Every time I approached that prison that I had just left, it served as a reminder that I must remain on the righteous path," he tells CNN. "If I hadn’t, what awaited me was that very prison."
A popular podcast shares Buari's struggle to prove his innocence
Buari's tale features on the podcast, “The Burden: Empire on Blood,” which detailed his years-long crusade for justice and ultimate liberation from imprisonment in May 2017 after 22 years behind bars.
The podcast debuted in 2018 and was subsequently updated with new episodes and previously unheard phone conversations from prison.
The latest episode, recently released, sheds light on Buari, now 53, navigating life post-incarceration. A supplementary bonus episode is set to be released Wednesday. The podcast concluded with Buari being released and sleeping in a van upon his ex-girlfriend's driveway as he attempted to establish his rideshare service.
Former journalist Steve Fishman, who hosts the podcast, chose to create additional episodes due to the constant inquiries about Buari.
"People still ask me, 'What happened to Cal?' We left him homeless and sleeping in the van, yet he was so determined (to better his life). And frankly, I was curious about what happened to Cal too," he says.
Fishman has been "obsessed" with Buari's case since he received an urgent call from him while in prison. A fellow inmate, who was also wrongfully imprisoned and subsequently released, had shared Fishman's number with Buari due to his efforts to highlight such instances.
Buari then delivered Fishman over 1,300 pages of his court transcripts and documents, and Fishman began recording their conversations with Buari's consent in 2011. He became captivated by this man advocating for his freedom from a prison payphone.
Since then, Fishman has been present for Buari's major milestones, including the dismissal of his conviction and his eventual release from prison.
In 2017, the year Buari was released, the National Registry of Exonerations documented 139 prisoners who were exonerated due to wrongful convictions, including 51 for homicide, it stated.
Statistics pertaining to exonerations offer further proof of the severe challenges faced by African Americans within the criminal justice system. Of the 153 prisoners exonerated in the US past year, 93 — or almost 61% — were Black.
“Judging from exonerations, innocent Black Americans are seven times more likely than white Americans to be falsely convicted of serious crimes,” the National Registry of Exonerations said in a 2022 report.
He started peddling drugs as a teenager to purchase a pair of Air Jordans
Buari was a shrewd and showy drug dealer. He swaggered the streets in Rolex watches, gold chains, and designer clothes. It was not unusual to see him dressed head-to-toe in Versace or Fila.
His boisterous role as a drug dealer made him unsympathetic and an easy target for a conviction, he says. The fact that he was distributing drugs during then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani's crackdown on crime didn't aid his situation either.
"At that time and in that era, if police simply heard drugs, they didn't care. They felt like you belonged in prison. Sometimes I felt like I belonged in prison," he says. "However, I was imprisoned for something that I hadn't done, yet I put myself in that situation due to my actions."
Buari describes himself as a diligent entrepreneur who wasted his business talents on detrimental pursuits. Even after his release from prison, he had no intention of working for someone else, he says.
He recounts leaving school in the 10th grade due to his mom's financial struggles. A specific incident convinced him to begin dealing drugs - he yearned for a pair of Air Jordans, but his mother couldn't afford them.
Shortly after entering the drug trade, he acquired a pair of new Air Jordans. He later purchased a black BMW, one of two he nicknamed 'The Black Man's Wish'.
Describing himself as 'young, fresh, and flashy', he admitted his foolishness at the time.
However, everything shifted on September 10, 1992.
Two brothers, Elijah and Salhaddin Harris, were sitting in their parked car, enjoying Jamaican takeout, when a gunman struck, taking both of their lives.
The crime occurred near East 213th St. and Bronxwood Avenue, a notorious spot for crack deals and gang activity in the Bronx at the time, as per Fishman's account. It was also the location where he peddled his drugs.
Competing drug dealers claimed they witnessed him killing the brothers in court to displace him as the main dealer. Prosecutors offered him a deal - a guilty plea in exchange for three years in prison, which he rejected.
A Bronx Supreme Court jury convicted him of two counts of second-degree murder in October 1995, sentencing him to 50 years to life in prison.
Except for the false testimony of rival drug dealers, there was no tangible evidence linking him to the crime, as per the National Registry of Exonerations.
Another inmate confesses
Initially, after his conviction, Buari continued selling drugs in prison and was moved frequently.
However, in the early 2000s, he realized he'd die in prison if he didn't alter his path. He began advocating for his freedom, reaching out to lawyers and activists involved in wrongful conviction cases.
The internet proved invaluable for him while incarcerated. He earned his GED online in 2007 and began taking criminal law courses virtually.
“My case motivated me to delve into law books, obtain my paralegal certificate, and pursue legal courses within prison, to comprehend the law, and find ways to fight and return home,” he explains.
Progress was slow, but things improved.
In 2003, another Bronx drug dealer, who'd been imprisoned for an unrelated murder, confessed to killing the brothers. However, he later retracted his statement, and the courts declined to overturn Buari's conviction.
The case stagnated for several years as Buari searched for lawyers to represent him. Then Myron Beldock, a renowned civil rights attorney who'd exonerated other prominent clients, took his case.
Unfortunately, after filing a motion to vacate Buari's sentence, Beldock passed away in 2016, putting the case on hold once again. But eventually, attorney Oscar Michelen agreed to represent him.
He received a fresh lease on life when three new witnesses testified at a hearing in 2017. Two of them implicated the other drug dealer as the shooter, while a third claimed she was with Buari elsewhere when they heard gunshots. She subsequently learned of his conviction years later from news stories.
On May 8, 2017, Buari finally walked out of prison.
“The moment was indescribable. It felt surreal. I’d been imprisoned since I was 24. Prison was no longer my destiny,” he shares.
Seven years later, he's on a path to redemption
Since his release, Buari has been incredibly active. He filed lawsuits against the city and state, securing substantial settlements.
He's invested in real estate in New York and Texas, as well as owning a million-dollar home in a Houston suburb where he spends most of his time.
“His aptitude for managing people, marketing, sales, and distribution as a drug dealer transferred well into becoming a legitimate millionaire,” Fishman states.
In 2021, he settled with New York City for $4 million after suing the city and prominent law enforcement officials, seeking unspecified damages. The prior year, he received a $3.75 million settlement from New York state, Michelen informs CNN.
Buari now operates a rideshare service, providing transportation services to inmate visitors in suburban New York and New Jersey prisons.
He acknowledges his ongoing journey toward redemption. "I'm still a work in progress, and I strive to be a better man each day. Reflecting on the lives and communities I ruined as a drug dealer is an important part of that process," he shares.
“I pray that many of those people are well and can find it in their hearts to forgive me. I was once lost... I’m not completely found, but today I find grace in my actions, not my words.”
He believes he'd be dead if he'd remained on the streets.
"Spending time in jail totally turned my life around. It had this domino effect on me. Prior to my incarceration, I was basically a worm, crawling along. Once I was locked up, I had to metamorphose my existence and focus on more constructive activities. I had to discover my hidden potential," he reveals. "That was my chrysalis period. And now that I'm back out, I feel like I've emerged as a butterfly."
He stresses that his road to redemption is still a long one, just getting started.
- During his visit to the Green Haven Correctional Facility, Buari observed that his business, Ryderz Van Service, was greatly benefiting numerous families who were unable to visit their incarcerated loved ones without his service.
- Reflecting on his newfound freedom after years of incarceration, Buari expressed gratitude for the support of his community and friends, particularly former journalist Steve Fishman, who advocated for his innocence and shared his story on the podcast "The Burden: Empire on Blood."
