Machetero Gets 7 Years For 1983 Wells Fargo Robbery

HARTFORD —

Avelino Gonzalez-Claudio hardly looked the part of a notorious leader of a violent Puerto Rico pro-independence group that pulled off a $7.1 million heist of a West Hartford Wells Fargo depot more than 25 years ago.
The 67-year-old grandfather appeared frail as he shuffled slowly into U.S. District Court on Wednesday dressed in an ill-fitting orange prison jumpsuit. His hands, clasped together, shook uncontrollably at times as he was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the robbery — and ordered to pay back the money.

The 67-year-old grandfather appeared frail as he shuffled slowly into U.S. District Court on Wednesday dressed in an ill-fitting orange prison jumpsuit. His hands, clasped together, shook uncontrollably at times as he was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the robbery — and ordered to pay back the money.

In arguing for the sentence, federal prosecutors cautioned that although Gonzalez-Claudio's advanced age and recently diagnosed Parkinson's disease might keep him from violent crimes, he still could be influential as a key figure in the Los Macheteros organization, a clandestine group that advocates the use of violence to win Puerto Rico's independence from the United States.

They questioned whether he would resume his association with the group after his release from prison.
In February 2008, authorities found documents in Gonzalez-Claudio's home that they say showed he was still involved with the group. Among them was literature that provided guidance on how to conduct a "liberation struggle," a list of "military objectives or targets," a 2007 membership roster, an inventory of weapons held by Los Macheteros members, and a 23-page bomb-making manual.

"Los Macheteros not only remains active in Puerto Rico, but continues to issue communiqués calling for armed struggle against the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the federal government," the prosecutors' sentencing memorandum said. "Continued association with the Los Macheteros therefore presents an ongoing public safety concern."

Gonzalez-Claudio pleaded guilty in February to conspiring to rob the Wells Fargo terminal on Sept. 12, 1983, and to transporting more than $7 million in cash to Mexico. Los Macheteros intended to use the money to finance a war against federal interests on the island and to support leftist insurgencies elsewhere in Latin America, according to documents seized by authorities and other evidence.

Los Macheteros, a self-described Marxist revolutionary group, claimed responsibility in the 1970s and '80s for armed attacks — with Cuban support — on federal interests in Puerto Rico. Federal authorities have linked the group to two rocket attacks on federal buildings in Puerto Rico, the bombing of nine National Guard airplanes at an airport in Puerto Rico, and an armed assault on a U.S. Navy bus in Puerto Rico that killed two sailors and wounded 10 others.

Gonzalez-Claudio disappeared after being indicted as a conspirator in the Wells Fargo heist and was a fugitive for 22 years until his capture in Puerto Rico by the FBI in February 2008.

Authorities said the robbery was well-planned. Los Macheteros had one of their own – Victor Gerena – obtain a job as a Wells Fargo guard. During the heist, the robbers overpowered the guards with a pistol and injected them with a narcotic to incapacitate them. The cash was stuffed into a car, which was delivered to fellow Macheteros in the South End of Hartford.

Man Pleads Guilty In 1983 Wells Fargo Robbery

By EDMUND H. MAHONY
The Hartford Courant
HARTFORD

A key figure in the $7.1 million Wells Fargo robbery in West Hartford nearly three decades ago abruptly pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to charges that include smuggling the money out of the country.

Avelino Gonzalez-Claudio, 67, was a leader and strategist of Los Macheteros, a militant, Puerto Rico pro-independence group. In the 1970s and '80s, the group claimed responsibility for armed attacks on federal interests in Puerto Rico, two of which caused the deaths of U.S. military personnel.

Gonzalez-Claudio pleaded guilty Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Hartford to conspiracy to commit robbery and transportation of stolen money out of the country. Under terms of his plea agreement, he would be sentenced to 7 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000. Sentencing is scheduled for later this year.

He has been in prison in Connecticut since the FBI arrested him in 2008 in Puerto Rico as he drove through the northern coastal city of Manati. While in prison, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and correctional authorities refused to provide him with medication until last month, said his lawyer, James Bergenn. In court, Gonzalez-Claudio appeared gaunt and emaciated, and the disease had taken such hold that he was barely able to speak.

Documents seized by the FBI showed that Macheteros planned to use the stolen millions to finance the violent overthrow of the U.S. government in Puerto Rico and to support leftist insurgencies elsewhere in Latin America.

Los Macheteros recruited a young college drop-out from Hartford, Victor Gerena, to be its inside man in the Sept. 12, 1983, Wells Fargo robbery. Gerena obtained a job as a Wells Fargo guard, overpowered his co-workers with a pistol, injected them with a narcotic to incapacitate them, and helped stuff the cash into a battered sedan which was driven to the depot by fellow Macheteros.

Gonzalez-Claudio and other Macheteros were accused, among other things, of hiding the cash behind hollow walls in a used motor home and driving the money, in two trips, to Mexico. Wire-tapped conversations, seized documents and other intelligence shows that most of the stolen money was flown from Mexico to Cuba, where it ended up under the control of Cuba's president at the time, Fidel Castro.

Agents continue to seek the two remaining Machetero fugitives wanted in connection with the robbery: Gonzalez-Claudio's brother, Norberto; and Gerena.

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