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Avelino González-Claudio is a Puerto Rican independence activist serving time in a U.S. federal prison for his participation in an armored truck robbery planned by Los Macheteros. Although the robbery took place in 1983, González-Claudio was not apprehended until 2008. After pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, González-Claudio was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2010.
The robbery
On September 12, 1983, a Wells Fargo armored truck in Hartford, Connecticut, was robbed of more than $7 million. The robbery, code-named "White Eagle", was "the largest cash heist in U.S. history" at the time of its commission.
Arrests
In 1985, González-Claudio was accused in absentia of having planned the robbery as a member of Los Macheteros. González-Claudio was apprehended in 2008, after more than 20 years as a fugitive and during which time he had adopted an alias that allowed him to work as a teacher in Puerto Rico. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy for robbery and, in 2010, was sentenced to seven years in prison. Prosecutors argued for the necessity of a substantial sentence in spite of González-Claudio's age and Parkinson's Disease, fearing that he could still be influential in the Los Macheteros organization, as authorities had found in February 2008 "documents in Gonzalez-Claudio's home that they say showed he was still involved with the group." Gonzalez-Claudio's projected prison release date is October 8, 2012.
See also
- Oscar López Rivera
- Carlos Alberto Torres
- Juan Enrique Segarra-Palmer
- Edwin Cortes
- Pedro Albizu Campos
- Oscar Collazo
- Lolita Lebron
- Puerto Rican independence movement
References
- La Prensa San Diego. By Marjorie Cohn. The Incarceration of Carlos Alberto Torres: After 30 Years in Prison, the Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Will Be Freed.. Vol. XXXIII. July 30, 2010.
- Filiberto Ojeda Ríos (obituary), The Economist, September 29, 2005. Accessed April 5, 2006. (The Economist Printed edition: October 1, 2005; Vol. 377; Issue 8446; Page 82.)
- ^ The Hartford (Connecticut, USA) Courant. February 8, 2008. "Wells Fargo Fugitive Captured: Suspect Allegedly Transported Cash From $7 Million Robbery To Mexico" By Edmund H. Mahony, Courant Staff Writer Retrieved November 30, 2009.
- FoxNews. Puerto Rican nationalist sentenced to 7 years for 1983 Wells Fargo robbery in Conn. May 26, 2010.
- Puerto Rico Daily Sun. Political prisoner to be released. July 17, 2010.
- Machetero The Hartford (Connecticut, USA), Courant. May 26, 2010. "Machetero Gets 7 Years For 1983 Wells Fargo Robbery" by Alaine Griffin, Courant Staff Writer, Accessed September 9, 2010.
- U.S. U.S. Department of Justice. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
