| Víctor Manuel Gerena | |
|---|---|
computer age-enhanced photograph |
|
| FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives | |
| Charges | |
| Alias | Víctor Ortiz, Víctor M. Gerena Ortiz. |
| Description | |
| Born | June 24, 1958 New York, New York |
| Nationality | American (Puerto Rican descent) |
| Occupation | Security guard |
| Criminal Status | |
| Added | May 14, 1984 |
| Number | 386 |
| Currently A Top Ten Fugitive | |
Víctor Manuel Gerena (born June 24, 1958) is an American fugitive wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the armed robbery, in connection with the Los Macheteros group, of a Wells Fargo armored car facility. On May 14, 1984, he became the 386th fugitive to be placed on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He remains at large and, on April 11, 2010, became the fugitive to have spent the most time on the list,[1] surpassing Donald Eugene Webb. He is believed to be in Cuba, but his exact whereabouts are unknown.
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Gerena and his family, consisting of his mother, four brothers and one sister, moved to Hartford, Connecticut from Puerto Rico when Gerena was very young. He enjoyed wrestling, winning many tournaments; he also played American football. He was a good student, serving on the student council and was recommended to Trinity College.
Gerena met Marion Delaney, then a clerk for the U.S. House of Representatives, who became his friend and tutor. Delaney inspired Gerena to attend her alma mater, the Annhurst College, a female-only college that had faced harsh economic times and was by then accepting male students. There were 200 women at Annhurst and only 25 men. Gerena was met with hostility by the college staff. Gerena returned home and began a relationship with an old friend and had a daughter together.
Gerena then became a security guard at a Wells Fargo armored car depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, the same facility he would later help rob.
In Puerto Rico, Machetero leaders Filiberto Ojeda Rios and Juan Segarra Palmer had heard of Gerena; Gerena's mother's background as a pro-independence advocate and his dislike of life in the army made him, in Ojeda Rios' and Segarra Palmer's eyes, a candidate to become a member of Los Macheteros. They flew to Hartford and convinced Gerena to help them with their cause by participating in the heist.
According to law enforcement authorities, on September 12, 1983, Gerena dropped off his girlfriend at City Hall, where she was to get a marriage license for the couple. He then went to his place of employment and spent the rest of the day with co-workers James McKeon and Timothy Girard. At some point, Gerena then removed McKeon's gun, handcuffed and tied up his two co-workers, and injected them with an unknown substance in order to further disable them.[2] He put $7,000,000 in the trunk of a car, then left with the money.[2] At an unknown point, Gerena transferred to another vehicle and disappeared.
According to published reports, Gerena was transported to Mexico,[3] where he boarded a Cubana de Aviación jet at Mexico City International Airport in Mexico City, arriving at José Martí International Airport in Havana. Years later, a cousin of Gerena accompanied journalist Edmund Mahoney to Cuba in an attempt to locate Gerena, but they did not succeed. Mahoney published a story in 2001 named Chasing Gerena.[4] The FBI is offering a reward for information leading to Gerena's capture of up to $1,000,000.[1]