{ // query dom only after user click if (!vdContainer) { vdContainer = document.getElementById(‘videoDetailsContainer’); vdShow = document.getElementById(‘vdt_show’), vdHide = document.getElementById(‘vdt_hide’); } vdContainer.hidden = !(vdContainer.hidden); // show/hide elements if (vdContainer.hidden) { vdShow.hidden = false; vdHide.hidden = true; } else { if (!flagCaption) { flagCaption = true; fireCaptionAnalytics() } vdShow.hidden = true; vdHide.hidden = false; } }); function fireCaptionAnalytics () { let analytics = document.getElementById(“pageAnalytics”); try { if (analytics) { analytics.fireEvent(`${ga_data.route.basePageType}|${section}|${subsection}|streamline|expandCaption`); } else { if (window.newrelic) window.newrelic.noticeError(‘page analytics tag not found’); } } catch (e) { if (window.newrelic) window.newrelic.noticeError(e); } } }()); ]]>
Murder suspect on US Marshals 15 Most Wanted list
The US Marshals Service put fugitive murder suspect Blane Barksdale on its top 15 most wanted list and upped the reward for information leading directly to his arrest to $25,000. Barksdale and his wife escaped from custody in Utah last month. (Sept. 10)
AP, AP
The U.S. Marshals Service says a man who appeared in video footage of a 2016 Los Angeles Dodgers game only bears a “strong resemblance” to John Ruffo and is not the most-wanted criminal himself.
The Marshals Service previously said Ruffo, a fugitive who has been on the most-wanted list for 23 years, might have been seen the baseball game. Ruffo was convicted in one of the largest bank fraud scams in American history.
But on Thursday, authorities ruled out a Ruffo sighting after receiving new information.
“In response to recent widespread media coverage, a tipster came forward and provided credible information as to the identity of the Dodgers game attendee,” the U.S. Marshals said in a news release. “The tipster and family members were fully cooperative with law enforcement and provided detailed information regarding the attendee.”
Officials verified the identity of the man at the baseball game using fingerprinting, among other measures, according to multiple reports.
Earlier this week, the Marshals Service issued a press release saying that it was “asking for the public’s assistance to identify a 2016 Dodgers game attendee who investigators say strongly resembles a 15 Most Wanted fugitive who has been on the run since November 1998.” They also advertised a reward of up to $25,000.
Footage from the baseball game, which took place on Aug. 5, 2016, shows a man who fits Ruffo’s description seated behind home plate.
The Marshals Service released an image that zeroed in on the man at the baseball game, as well as a rendering of what Ruffo “may look like today.”
Earlier: US Marshals suspect most-wanted fugitive on run for 23 years was at a Dodgers game
Ruffo, who is now 66, was convicted in 1998. He and several accomplices tricked banks into funding a fake research project they claimed was for a tobacco company. Approximately $13 million of the money stolen by Ruffo was never recovered.
He was sentenced to over 17 years in prison, but, after he was convicted, he remained free on bail. He is believed to have fled via a New York airport instead of reporting to a federal prison in New Jersey.
U.S. Marshals said in a statement earlier this week they “have pursued hundreds of leads across the country and around the world in search of Ruffo.” They also noted that Ruffo “has been called a master manipulator.”
Contributing: Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY
{ link.setAttribute(‘href’, url); }); } })(); function fireNavShareAnalytics (type) { try { let analytics = document.getElementById(“pageAnalytics”), section = ga_data.route.sectionName || ga_data.route.ssts.split(‘/’)[0]; if (analytics) { analytics.fireEvent(`${ga_data.route.basePageType}:${section}:nav-share-buttons:${type}`); } else { if (window.newrelic) window.newrelic.noticeError(‘page analytics tag not found’); } } catch (e) { if (window.newrelic) window.newrelic.noticeError(e); } } ]]>
Source
