Angelo Fusco

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A poster in opposition to the extradition of Angelo Fusco

Angelo Fusco (born 2 September 1956) is a former volunteer in the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who escaped during his 1981 trial for killing a Special Air Service (SAS) officer in 1980.[1]

Background and IRA activity

Fusco was born in west Belfast in 1956,

transit van, while the other three IRA members remained inside the house.[7] More members of the security forces were deployed to the scene, and after a brief siege the remaining members of the IRA unit surrendered.[4]

Trial and escape

The trial of Fusco and the other members of the M60 gang began in early May 1981, with them facing charges including three counts of murder.

Crumlin Road Jail. After locking the officer in a cell, the eight took other officers and visiting solicitors hostage, also locking them in cells after taking their clothing.[8][9] Two of the eight wore officer's uniforms while a third wore clothing taken from a solicitor, and the group moved towards the first of three gates separating them from the outside world.[9] They took the officer on duty at the gate hostage at gunpoint, and forced him to open the inner gate.[9] An officer at the second gate recognised one of the prisoners and ran into an office and pressed an alarm button, and the prisoners ran through the second gate towards the outer gate.[8][9] An officer at the outer gate tried to prevent the escape but was attacked by the prisoners, who escaped onto Crumlin Road.[8] As the prisoners were moving towards the car park where two cars were waiting, an unmarked RUC car pulled up across the street outside Crumlin Road Courthouse. The RUC officers opened fire, and the prisoners returned fire before escaping in the waiting cars.[8] Two days after the escape, Fusco was convicted in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum recommended term of thirty years.[10]

Imprisonment and extradition battle

Fusco escaped across the border into the

Maze Prison in Northern Ireland to serve his sentence for the murder conviction.[10] The extradition was granted by a District Court but Fusco appealed, and in 1995 he won a legal victory when a judge at the High Court in Dublin ruled it would be "unjust, oppressive and invidious" to order his extradition due to the time lag involved.[1][10] Fusco settled in Tralee with his wife and three children until February 1998, when the Supreme Court of Ireland brought an end to the six-year legal battle by ordering his extradition, but Fusco had already fled on bail and a warrant was issued for his arrest.[1][10]

Fusco was arrested at a Garda checkpoint in Castleisland, County Kerry on 3 January 2000.[6] The following day he was being escorted back to Northern Ireland to be handed over to the RUC, when his handover was halted by a successful court appeal by Sinn Féin.[12] The arrest and abortive return of Fusco undermined the Northern Ireland peace process, with Unionist politicians including Ken Maginnis criticising the extradition being halted.[12] Republicans were critical of Fusco's arrest, with leading Sinn Féin member Martin Ferris stating "The Irish government should immediately move to rescind the warrant against Angelo Fusco. The action will cause great anger and resentment within the nationalist community", and graffiti in one republican area read "Extradite Bloody Sunday war criminals, not Fusco".[12] On 6 January Fusco was refused bail and remanded to prison in Castlerea, County Roscommon to await a legal review of his extradition, prompting scuffles outside the court between police and Sinn Féin supporters.[13]

Fusco was freed on bail on 21 March pending the outcome of his legal challenge,

Royal Prerogative of Mercy which allowed them to return to Northern Ireland without fear of prosecution.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Angelo Fusco's long fight with the law". BBC. 6 January 2000. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  2. ISBN 0-09-175306-6
    .
  3. ^ "Portlaoise prisoners to be moved to bungalows". Irish Examiner. 3 December 1999. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  4. ^
    ISBN 1-56000-901-2
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 1-85635-437-7
    .
  6. ^ a b "High Court blocks Fusco handover". RTÉ. 4 January 2000. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  7. ^ Killer in Clowntown: Joe Doherty, the IRA and the Special Relationship, p. 94.
  8. ^
    ISBN 0-7453-1509-7
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 0-87113-702-X
    .
  10. ^ a b c d e John Mullin (5 January 2000). "Great escapes of an IRA gunman". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  11. ^ Tom Brady (5 February 2004). "CAB wins €170,000 claim against prison escaper". Irish Independent. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  12. ^ a b c John Mullin (5 January 2000). "IRA killer caught in on-off extradition row". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  13. ^ Ray Managh (7 January 2000). "Provo fugitive Fusco sent back to prison". Irish Independent. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  14. ^ "IRA killer freed on bail". BBC. 21 March 2000. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  15. ^ a b c "Escapees not to be extradited to North". Irish Examiner. 8 November 2000. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  16. ^ Louise McCall (28 December 2000). "Unionist anger as IRA escapees are allowed home". Irish Independent. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Angelo_Fusco&oldid=1224823138"