Crime & Safety
Zachs Expected Back in U.S. Today
Extradition approved by Mexico; West Hartford detective reportedly will help escort convicted murderer to Connecticut; appearance in Superior Court probable.
Convicted murderer Adam Zachs, who for more than two decades, is expected to be returned to Connecticut from Mexico to begin serving a 60-year prison sentence before the weekend, according to several reports.
The Courant reported Tuesday night that a Mexican court has approved , and Zachs could be back in the U.S. late Wednesday.
Zachs, who turned 48 in April in a Mexico City prison, could appear in Hartford Superior Court as early as Thursday.
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A West Hartford detective is reportedly in Mexico to help escort Zachs. West Hartford detectives Mark Puglielli and Dane Semper were instrumental in the investigation that led to Zachs’ capture Feb. 1 in Leon, Mexico.
Zachs, who fled in 1989 while free on appeal, is expected to stand before a judge in Superior Court as a 22-year-old fugitive warrant is officially vacated. He almost certainly will also stand before the family and friends of Peter Carone, who he gunned down outside the Prospect Café on March 22, 1987.
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Carone, a graduate, was 29 and engaged to be married when he was shot in the back.
Zachs was 25 when he was convicted of first-degree murder on Aug. 28, 1988.
When Zachs was captured, he was running a computer repair business, authorities said. A graduate, Zachs was living under the name of Ruben Fridman. He also has two children through a marriage to a Mexican citizen, authorities said.
In February, Chief James Strillacci said local connections led to Zachs. And in a announced June 8, Zachs’ 78-year-old father, Frederick Zachs, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in New Haven to harboring a fugitive.
Frederick Zachs told U.S. Magistrate Judge Joan G. Margolis that in 1989 he arranged a flight in New York for his son to flee to Mexico. He also admitted he provided a steady stream of money through third parties that allowed Zachs to frustrate a vast network of local, state, federal and international law enforcement agencies.
Frederick Zachs is not expected to serve more than six months of a possible five-year prison term when he is sentenced Aug. 26, prosecutors said. He faces a fine of up to $250,000.
