Image Source: LA Times
BY EMOKE BEBIAK
For 40 years, it seemed George Wright was living the perfect life after pulling off the perfect crime. He broke out of prison, hijacked a plane and then settled in a picturesque town in Portugal. But the sweet life came to an end on Monday. The Telegraph reports...
“Wright's decades-long flight from justice ended when the 68-year-old American was taken into custody by local police Monday at the request of the US government. On Tuesday, he appeared before a judge in Lisbon, the capital, for an initial extradition hearing.”
But let’s start the story at the beginning. According to the New York Times, Wright, who’s now 68, was first arrested for murder in the 1960s.
“Mr. Wright was involved in a string of armed robberies. During one of them, at a gas station in Monmouth County, N.J., Mr. Wright shot and killed the owner, Walter Patterson, a World War II veteran and a recipient of the Bronze Star.”
Not long after the shooting, Wright was caught and sentenced for 15 to 30 years in prison. But he managed to escape stealing a guard’s car. He then joined the Black Liberation Army in Detroit. In 1972, he and four other members of the group allegedly hijacked a plane. NPR explains the details...
“Wright reportedly dressed as a priest and carried a handgun in a hollowed-out Bible. When the plane landed in Miami, the hijackers demanded a $1 million ransom. From Miami, they flew to Boston and on to Algeria where they disappeared.”
NPR also adds-- in case you ever wondered when airports started security screening for carry-on bags, well, it was in response to that hijacking. Later, Wright’s companions were captured in Paris, but he managed to remain hidden in a Portuguese beach town. TIME reports Wright was captured after the FBI got a lead...
“Wright remained off the grid until he resurfaced in recent years, allegedly attempting to contact relatives back in the U.S. That's when authorities resumed their work to crack the surely cold case.”
Wright’s neighbors were stunned by the arrest. They thought Wright, who speaks fluent Portuguese, was from Africa.
A reporter for CNN reports Wright was leading a quiet life with his Portuguese wife and two children...
“He’s been living here, really, in total obscurity for many years, people are describing him as a terribly nice guy, quiet, living a modest life. He’s been a house painter and had a couple small businesses...”
Wright is currently held in Lisbon pending the Portuguese court’s decision on extraditing him to the US.
