Brendan J. Lyons reports in the Albany Times Union that Albany County and the city of New York have settled a federal lawsuit filed by four former Rikers Island inmates who claim they were taunted, beaten, stomped, and sexually assaulted by officers in the county jail in Colonie last year. Overall, 24 Rikers inmates were transferred to the Albany County Jail last year, and Davon Washington, Steven Espinal, Pariis Tillery, and an unidentified "John Doe" allege they were assaulted within minutes of their arrival at the jail. "An earlier Times Union review of jail records — including video surveillance footage, use-of-force reports, medical summaries, and time-stamped photographs obtained through Freedom of Information Law requests — cast doubt on whether the inmates were subjected to the torture and other civil rights violations," the newspaper reports. But Steven H. Goldman, one of several New York City attorneys for the men, claimed the abuse was "systemic." Albany County and the city of New York, an anonymous source told the newspaper, "anticipated high costs fighting the federal lawsuit," and instead agreed to settle and pay nearly $1 million to the four litigants. The settlement did not come with an admission of any wrongdoing. Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple declined to comment on the story. Read more about this story in the Albany Times Union.