‘Dodging justice’
Prosecutor’s claim over US fugitive who faked his death
A MAN wanted in the US over sex crime allegations is trying to ‘defeat’ justice and avoid being extradited, a court heard yesterday.
Advocate depute Paul Harvey made the claim during a hearing yesterday at Edinburgh Sheriff Court against a man alleged to be 34-year-old Nicholas Rossi.
The man was first arrested on December 13 last year after being admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow for Covid-19 treatment.
He is said to have checked in using the alias Arthur Knight but was traced following a tip-off from Interpol while he was on a ventilator in intensive care. The man denies being Rossi and prosecutors have still to formally identify him.
He did not attend court yesterday. Mr Harvey told Sheriff Thomas Welsh, QC, that the man checked into a hospital on Wednesday, before trying to check himself out a few hours later. Doctors kept him in.
Medics at the unnamed hospital found there had been a ‘slight deterioration’ in his condition. They also found he had a fever but this had been caused by him taking too much medication.
Mr Harvey said the man had not complied with a court order to submit a doctor’s report detailing his medical issues and had not responded to a request to provide his fingerprints. The man has not said why he should not be extradited. Mr Harvey said the behaviour showed ‘a concerted attempt to defeat the proceedings’.
The man is wanted in Utah over an allegation of sexual assault, and Scots prosecutors are acting on behalf of US authorities.
He was remanded in custody following a hearing earlier this year but was later given bail by the Sheriff Appeal Court and currently lives at a flat in the West End of Glasgow with his wife Miranda.
US authorities claim the man faked his own death to escape charges and fled to Scotland under an assumed identity. He claims he is called Arthur Knight and has never been in America.
The full hearing in the case will take place on July 7.