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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | July 2005 
Legendary Crime Boss Returned to Mexico
 Jose Luis Magana - Seattle PI
| | An almost legendary outlaw, Rios Galeana is said to have committed as many as two dozen bank robberies in the 1970s and 1980s. (Photo: Jose Luis Magana) |
Mexico City - Top crime boss Alfredo Rios Galeana, who blasted his way out of a Mexican courtroom almost two decades ago and spent nearly 19 years as a fugitive, was returned to Mexico to face charges of robbery, homicide and assault.
Considered one of Mexico's most dangerous criminals, Rios Galeana was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the home he shared with his wife and children in the city of South Gate, just south of Los Angeles, on Monday and handed over to Mexican authorities.
Speaking to reporters after he was escorted off a police plane under heavy guard at the Mexico City airport, Rios Galeana said he had fled to the United States to leave his bloody past behind.
He claimed to be a changed man, saved by a religious awakening.
"Let me tell you that Jesus changed my life, and that's why I left all this," he said. "God forgives even the worst criminal."
Asked about the people he allegedly killed, he answered "I regret it with all my heart." Asked where the loot from his bank heists is now, he said: "It was all spent."
In a press statement, U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said the arrest "is sending a message to fugitives who foolishly believe they are clever enough to evade capture."
"You will find no quarter in our country, and we will spare no expense to find you and bring you to justice," Garza said.
Mexican officials said Rios Galeana spent 15 years living under an alias as a quiet, church-going family man in a largely Mexican neighborhood of South Gate.
He had been living with his wife and three children under the alias Arturo Montoya.
In a decade-long crime spree in the 1970s and 1980s, Rios Galeana allegedly masterminded some two dozen bank robberies and six murders, including the killing of police officers.
He escaped from a courtroom in Mexico City's Southern Penitentiary on Nov. 22, 1986, one of a group of inmates freed by armed assailants who tied up 20 people and used a hand grenade to blast an escape route through a wall.
Rios was often referred to as Mexico's "Public Enemy Number One" and is believed to be one of the country's most prolific armed robbers.
Stunned Californian neighbors and his pastor described him as a religious man who ran a small janitorial service. South Gate Pastor Melvin Acevedo said he was shocked to learn of Rios' identity.
"He was an example to all of us. He was a good member of the church. He was a good father. I am saddened for his family," Acevedo said by phone from the church.
The pastor said that the man he knew as Montoya sang during services and would often visit sick members of the church and reach out to those who stopped attending church. |
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