U.S. Marshals capture escaped prisoner Capozzi

Photo courtesy of U.S. Marshal Service

VERSAILLES, Ky. (AP) - A Mafia-affiliated fugitive who escaped from federal custody by kicking open a prison van door in Kentucky was captured Saturday after two days on the run, authorities said.
     
Derek A. Capozzi, 37, was apprehended without incident in Versailles in central Kentucky, U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Craig Smith said. The details of his capture and what he did after his escape Thursday were not immediately released.
     
Capozzi was in Kentucky to testify at a federal trial and was being taken back to a prison in Pennsylvania when he kicked open the van door and fled. Versailles residents were warned to lock their doors and schools were placed on lockdown while authorities used helicopters and dogs to search for Capozzi, who was described as dangerous.
     
Prosecutors have said Capozzi belonged to a Mafia-affiliated crime gang in Massachusetts called the DeConlogero Crew. He was convicted in Massachusetts in 2005 of being an accessory to the murder of a 19-year-old woman suspected of cooperating with investigators.
     
Capozzi was sentenced to 23 years for helping to dismember and hide the woman's body. Authorities said he also was serving time for trying to kill a correctional officer.
     
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