Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Cop takes a bullet, crawls to squad car. Spends 46 years tracking down shooter.

Episode Date: August 20, 2020

Police officer Daril Cinquanta is shot by a perp. He was on a solo watch, which meant there was no one there to help him. Cinquanta crawled to his squad car to radio for help, The suspect got away, or did he? Cinquanta spent the next four decades tracking down his shooter.Joining Nancy Grace Today: Daril Cinquanta - Author of "The Blue Chameleon" available on Amazon, President of Professional Investigators Inc.  David Di Pietro  - South Florida, former prosecutor, trial attorney, CEO DiPietro Partners, Attorneys at Law, Caryn Stark - NYC Psychologist Ray Caputo - Lead News Anchor for Orlando's Morning News, 96.5 WDBO Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I will never forget it. I was the rookie prosecutor and befriended a rookie cop who was testifying in front of the grand jury a lot. He was newlywed, just married. He pulled over a guy in the traffic stop, a kid, 16 years old, 17, who gunned him down, shot him in the face. I remember it like it was yesterday, walking down the district attorney's hallway, and somebody came and told me they shot Schepani. That was killed in the line of duty. Today, I've got a story for you you won't believe.

A cop, a good cop, gets shot in the line of duty. The perp gets arrested and then escapes jail. If you can even believe that. Years. This cop never gives up finding, trying to find, the man who shot him. And joining me today, that cop. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. Let's kick it off. Daryl Sincana was working patrol as a rookie cop when he noticed a suspicious car on Mariposa Way.

When he confronted the man in the car, the man pulled out a gun. So I hit him in the temple, I knocked his glasses and hat off, and reached across his body and grabbed his gun arm. He had a gun, and I couldn't stop me. He'd be from Soledad Prison in California, and he had come here to hide. The shooter was Luis Archuleta. Archuleta was later taken to a Colorado prison but escaped three years later. In an escape that was from a Hollywood script, I mean this was a well-orchestrated escape that he did. Took a hostage, had a getaway car,

an accomplice with guns. Sincana has been chasing him ever since for 46 years. Joining me today, that cop, along with an all-star panel to break it down and put it back together again, David DiPietro, South Florida, former prosecutor, now trial lawyer, CEO, DiPietro Partners, attorneys at law,

renowned New York psychologist. Joining me from Manhattan, Karen Stark at KarenStark.com, lead anchor Orlando Morning News WDBO Ray Caputo. But first, to the hero, the man who lived, Daryl Cinquanta. Shot in the line of duty, spends the next 40 plus years trying to track down the guy who shot him. I'm just so thrilled to talk to you, Daryl, and hearing your voice and knowing what you've been through surviving a gunshot wound, fighting for your life. I don't know where to start, so let's just start at the beginning. Tell me about the day that you were shot. of District 1 which is North Denver and

there's solo cars by the way and it was about 8 a.m. in the morning hold it when you say solo cars that means you did not have a partner that's right and morning shift for cops is what time to what time? As I recall, it was about two o'clock that you started back then, 2 a.m., I'm sorry, and it went eight hours. Yeah, we're not talking about nine to five people. No, no. Okay. A horrible shift. And what, yeah, that's a graveyard shift right there, and you got to be really dedicated to stick with it. 2 a.m., you're out on the street. And another thing about the morning shift, you don't expect crimes to happen at 5 o'clock in the morning.

Right? You think of them as happening at 10, 11. Okay. Go ahead, Daryl. Okay. I just got a donut and a chocolate milk, and I was headed to the Sunnyside Drug. Did you say a donut? Yeah, itaryl. Okay. I just got a donut and a chocolate milk and I was headed to the Sunnyside drug. Did you say a donut? Yeah, it's true. Oh, man, you're just feeding into every stereotype. Everybody's laughing. I'm not laughing because you know what I used to do? Oh, no, I'm not.

Because I would get so strung out prosecuting nothing but felonies. Sometimes I felt like I was in a trance. I'd walk to my car, which of course was way down the street because of cheaper parking, get in the car thinking, and I just drive through Krispy Kreme and I get a skim milk as if that helped anything and, and don't glaze and just sit there thinking like my mind just zoned out about all these child molestations and murders and rapes and dah, dah-da-da-da. Yeah, I did it too, so I'm not laughing. You know what?

You guys laugh all you want to. You're not on the street fighting crime. Okay, Daryl, I'm sorry. I had to defend ourselves. Go ahead with the donut attack. I know it, but it's the truth, and I have to tell it. So I'm on my way to the sunny side to get a Sunday paper, and I spot this car at the curb in the projects, the Quignentin projects, with two females and a male sitting in it.

The male was the passenger, and he had a Castro hat on. I have never seen any bad guy wear a Castro hat, but this guy did. So he looked like a character. So back in those days, we could contact him, stop and frisk, and get his ID, see if he's wanted. So first of all, what time was this? By the time you got the donuts, you got the paper, and you see a man in passenger side. Now, this is a Castro hat.

It's easy to figure out. It looks like what Fidel Castro wore. That's what he's talking about. And every one of his photos, this is what he had on. Okay, go ahead. So, a guy in a Castro hat, two women, he's in the passenger seat, and then what? It's about 8 a.m. in the morning. So, I contact him at the passenger side.

I ask him for ID. He acts like he can only speak Spanish. He hands me a wallet with a social security card that says Luis Archuleta on it. And there's some pictures of some children. So I get this character out of the car and I try to get him to the back trunk and I tell him to put his hands on the trunk and he sidesteps and puts his butt towards the trunk, his right elbow's going up. Stupid here, I decide to punch him, knock his hat and glasses off. I grab his gun arm, he's pulling the revolver and I can't hold him so he levels the gun and shoots me. I end up on the ground. He takes off running.

So I have to crawl to the car to call for help. Back in 1971, we didn't have radios that came out of the cars, nor did we have bulletproof vests. So I had to call for help, and they came. What's the last thing you remember there on the scene? On the scene? Well you know it kind of knocked the wind out of me. My legs weren't working very well. I obviously knew I was shot. Now it didn't hurt and that was I thought, odd. But, you know, by the time I got to the hospital, it did. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Guys, we are talking to Captain Awesome. This guy, Daryl Sequanta, the author of The Blue Chameleon, Line of Duty, 8 a.m., gets shot. At that time, no bulletproof vests, no body transmitter, no body cam. He crawls on the asphalt to his police cruiser, gets to the radio. He knows he's been shot, but he doesn't feel it. Can't walk. Army crawls. Crawls to his radio and calls for help. Here's the miracle. He lived.

Guys, take a listen to this. Darryl Cinquanta has vivid memories of what happened here back on October 3rd of 1971. He looked like a bad actor, and so I backed up and confronted him. Cinquanta was a rookie Denver police officer. He was pulling a gun, and anyway, I lost that battle. He survived being shot once in the abdomen by this man, Luis Archuleta. You know, back in those days,

we didn't have bulletproof vests, and our radios did not come out of the car. So I had to crawl to the car and get in the car and call for help. The gunman, who also went by Lawrence Pusateri, was convicted and sentenced to 9 to 14 years in prison, but he escaped from a state hospital. And they're met by guns and an accomplice with a gun and a getaway vehicle, and off they go. He disappeared and was even featured on America's Most Wanted. Guys, with me right now, this guy, the guy who lived, the cop who lived.

You ever read Harry Potter? The boy who lived? This is the cop who lived. Daryl Sequanta, author of The Blue Chameleon, with me. You know, when I hear that story, it literally gives me a chill down my arm, thinking of you crawling to your cruiser. Now, tell me about the perp, Luis Arquileta, a.k.a. Lawrence Pusateri. What was he in for? Okay, you've got to back up a hair.

Okay. After he shot me, we think that the Crusade for Justice moved him out to Mexico. He's in Mexico, and he's supposedly dealing drugs. Wait a minute. What's the Crusade for Justice? It's an early militant terrorist group in the United States that was based in Denver. So he goes to Mexico.

He gets in a firefight, and they get him. They arrest him. Now, the way I get it is that he got to an American consulate, told them that he had shot a policeman in Denver, and get him out of there. He wanted to come back to Denver. Apparently, they weren't treating him real well. So he comes back, and we go to court. We convict him.

He gets nine and a half to 14 years for shooting me. So in 1974, he gets transferred to the state hospital where all inmates have to go to get minor operations. Wait, wait, wait. I'm drinking out of the fire hydrant here because there's so much information. So after he shoots you, he goes on the run. He goes to Mexico. And there he gets— And we don't know who he is.

Right. Don't know who he is. He's in Mexico. He gets in a firefight. I don't really know what that means except for a shootout. And I guarantee you he's not on the right side of the law. And I understand he gets arrested. He doesn't like it.

He gets somehow in contact with U.S. Embassy, admits he shot a cop in Denver, and they send him back to Denver. Do I have it right so far? Yeah, you got it right. Tell me the first time you saw him after he gets back to Denver. When did you first see him to identify him? In court. I'm surprised they didn't give you a lineup ahead of time to make sure he was the right guy.

Oh, they did. They did. So you saw him in a lineup? Yes, I did. Now, see, everybody, when you hear that a cop lied on the stand, that's just how it happens. Okay? He said, I saw him in court. And I asked him, when's the first time

you saw him when he came back? It was a lineup. Tell me about the lineup if you remember it. When you laid eyes on him. Well, it wasn't a stand-up lineup. It was a photo lineup. Uh-huh. And?

I picked the picture. You didn't hesitate, did you? I don't think I did. Oh, thank God in heaven. I looked at them all. I hate it when the witness hesitates. I know. And then I'm always afraid.

I looked at all the pictures. Always afraid they're going to pick the wrong person. It was important, you know. Can I just tell you what happened to me in court? Okay. Go ahead. you know so can i just tell you what happened to me in court okay oh yeah so oh by the way he is now the head of the gbi vic reynolds i helped train him as a prosecutor he's a great prosecutor by the way great investigator too we had a guy and we called him the goat man because he smelled like a goat. He smelled awful. Anyway, poor guy got

stabbed. And I was working a murder case. So I gave Vic this case to try. And every time I see him to this day, I say, hey, you remember the goat man? Okay, wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait, I'm getting there. So the goat man is up on the stand and Vic in his usual fashion says, and do you see the man that stabbed you in the courtroom today? Well, the goat man started looking. He looked all around and I noticed he looked over the defendant then he looked away I'm like uh-oh oh no oh no Vic had to get him down off the stand in a wheelchair although I think he could walk but it was with difficulty from the stab he started wheeling around anyway he went and looked at the jury and said wait a minute I think I see him and went went Vic said wait a, wait a minute, I think I see him. And Vic said, wait a minute, wait a minute, look at everybody before you decide.

Anyway, Vic pushes him all the way over to the defense table and there's the guy and he pulls up and he looks at him really hard and goes, oh yeah, that's him, that's him right there. I was so afraid he was going to identify the defense lawyer. I didn't know

what to do. Anyway, we got him back up on the stand and the case went on. So I always, in that moment, I'm always afraid no matter what else evidence we have in the eyewitness identifies the wrong person, you're screwed. So tell me about the photo lineup,. The photolineum. You did ID Archuleta, right? I did. Oh, thank God. Okay, then what happened? You go to trial. What happened at trial?

It comes to trial. So we go to trial. He gets nine and a half to 14 years. Which is pretty light for shooting a cop. Oh, by the way, where did he shoot you? In the stomach? No, it wasn't in the stomach. It was above the stomach.

It was to the right side of my chest, but the lower part of it. You know, to you, Karen Stark, psychologist, you know how much I hate guns. Hate guns. And wouldn't you know, John David, through the scouts, has turned into a little sharpshooter. Why does that stick with you the rest of your life? For some people, me anyway, being a victim of gun violence, why can't I get past that hatred? I hate to even see one. I feel like I'm looking at a snake. It's a very familiar story to me because that's what happens when someone's traumatized. And every time you see anything that will remind you of that experience, you'll be re-traumatized.

And in this particular instance, a gun, a gun will always symbol, will be a symbol for you of a horrific event that changed the course of your life. I'm just drinking in what you said to David DiPietro, South Florida, former prosecutor, now trial lawyer, CEO, DiPietro Partners, attorneys at law. Boy, that's a mouthful, David DiPietro. DiPietro, how did that whole thing work? This is a bad dude who lived to tell the tale, and somehow he gets through to the U.S. Embassy and they send him back? Why am I still the only one shocked that he only got nine to 14 years? I'm shocked i haven't

even gotten to that yet you you shoot a cop and you get 14 years but how does that whole thing work with the embassy getting you out of a mexican jail and sending you to the lap of luxury to a denver county jail i i guess that's through diplomatic negotiations he was probably more wanted in the u.s than he was wanted in the U.S. than he was wanted in Mexico. I guess he was a bad shooter in Mexico and didn't shoot a federal. He only shot at them. And he was more wanted here in the United States, and he knew that. That's why he went to the embassy, because he knew he was more wanted in the U.S.

And a prison in the U.S. is a lot better than a prison in Mexico, no doubt. You know, David Pietro, you're very right. You're very right. And plus, I'm sure the Mexican jail is overcrowded. They couldn't wait to unload somebody to the U.S. Sure, you can have him. C.O.D. Here he comes. crime stories with nancy grace daryl cinquanta guys we are talking to a hero cop shot in the

line of duty spends the next 40 plus years trying to track down the guy who shot him. He goes to Mexico. He comes back. So you go to trial. Why did he just get 14 years, Darrell? That doesn't sound like enough for shooting a cop. Well, I'll tell you, I was really enraged. They wouldn't file assault to murder. And we had that charge at the time. It was, you know, they just wouldn't

do it. And if they had, he would have got a lot more time. So he got aggravated assault to a police officer, but not to commit murder. And so that's what he was tried on and he got 9 1⁄2 to 14. You know what? That shows how

important, agree or disagree, to you, David DiPietro, how important those lawyers are at the charging level, i.e. the ones that work in grand jury, who take the police reports and supplementals, and from that they figure out what felonies will be charged in the indictment. Then you present those charges to a grand jury, and they yay or nay it. If you don't have the right charges, you've ruined your whole case, as we're hearing right here. And it's important that we have laws, like in Florida, we have 10-20 life. If you discharge a firearm and you strike somebody, it's a life felony, mandatory life. So it gets even the discretion away from the prosecutors because of the heinous nature of gun crimes in this country

over the last 50 years. You're so right, DiPietro. Back to you, Daryl Cinquanta, author of The Blue Chameleon. Daryl, so he gets the measly 14 years on that. He'll probably be out in seven, but somehow he lands at the state hospital. How did he get there? Well there well in 1974 he and another inmate were transferred there to have a minor operation i don't know what the operation was the way i got it and um i i guessed that he arrived there now i understand he went in the bathroom. He was met by an accomplice somewhere, and he got access to guns. So he's armed. He's got an accomplice. They got a getaway vehicle.

And my understanding was he took a hostage. And on the FBI flyer, it says he took a hostage. So off they go. I mean, this was a well-planned escape. I can't believe this. Well, that's his second escape. Remember, when I met him, he was an escapee from Soledad. Why was he in Soledad? Do you know?

I think burglary narcotics, and I'm not positive on that, but I understand he... So he was an escapee when he shot you. He managed to maneuver a way to escape a Mexican jail, get to Denver. I bet you anything he faked the whole illness. But he ends up in the state facility for a minor surgery, and he has it planned down to the minute details. He does. Has an accomplice waiting in the bathroom with a gun. Gets out now.

Before you think this never happens, take a listen to our cut. 10-9 News, Denver. Bundy jumped out of this second-story window at the front of the Pitkin County Courthouse this morning. He was scheduled for a court appearance and apparently had been locked into the law library by sheriff's deputies while attorneys were arguing a motion to strike the death penalty.

Witnesses say he left in a hurry. However, nobody saw him open the window, and he escaped clean in an unknown direction. At both ends of town, the sheriff's department put up roadblocks and searched each vehicle leaving the town of Aspen. As of late this afternoon, Bundy was still missing, but a court clerk said they'd arrested nine people on warrants and confiscated 200 pounds of marijuana. All day long, County Sheriff Dick Keenest has been circling over the wooded hills in a helicopter looking for the suspected rap all places, the courthouse.

Bundy, Ted Bundy. And I'd like to point out, it's in Denver again. Denver takes another black eye. Take a listen to our friends at ABC 2020. He was assisting in his own defense, so he had a right to go use the law library. This is an old, old courthouse. And the law library was up on the top floor. The judge decreed that he didn't have to wear shack the law library. This is an old, old courthouse, and the law library was up on the top floor. The judge decreed that he didn't have

to wear shackles or anything, so he walked about the courtroom and back into the law library as a free man. Over the months, I've noticed a number of opportunities to just walk right out. I'd thought a great deal about escape, and I didn't know if I had the guts to do it, quite frankly. There's a picture of him coming into the building that morning, and he's got a really concentrated look on his face.

He had dressed with an extra layer. He had a sweater under the one he was wearing on the outside, so he was planning to go that day. The guard went outside for a smoke, and the sky was blue. And I said, I'm ready to go, and feel about being locked up in a coffin. Bundy escapes, not once, but just like this guy, Luis Arquileta, twice. He then escapes from the jail. And that was a really good point we heard there, Daryl Cinquanta, author of The Blue Chameleon. Because just like Bundy and the courthouse and the law library, your shooter, Luis Arquileta, was not shackled and bound in the infirmary, in the hospital. Think about it. I understood that he had just arrived. He just got there when they escaped.

So it was a fake surgery all around. Probably. Yeah. When did you hear he escaped? When did I? When did you find out your shooter had escaped? Yeah. Probably, I would say the same day. I have a really good relationship with corrections and stuff.

I was notified immediately, and we started covering all the known addresses, family, friends, all that stuff. I don't think he went near Denver. I think he was gone. Long gone. Joining me now, lead news anchor Orlando Morning News WDBO, Ray Caputo. So this guy gets away. Any idea how he did it, where he went, Ray Caputo? Well, Nancy, we know that he ends up making his way, you know, not too far away to a place called Española, New Mexico.

It's in the northwestern part of the state, like a little bit north of Albuquerque. And it's a small city, just over 10,000 people. Very pretty there, blue skies and mountains. And the biggest distinction of this place is it's not far from Los Alamos. It's a very quiet place to disappear to. And disappear he did. To Daryl Cinquanta, author of Blue Chameleon, The Cop That Lived and Survived a Gunshot Wound, Daryl, when you realized he had escaped, how badly did you want to find him? And did you ever give up in the hope of you would find him?

No, I never gave up. But I got to tell you, all the years I've been looking for him, I only had one lead, and that was in San Jose, California. What was the lead? The lead was that he was at a apartment building there, and we sent the police there,

and we had missed him. And somebody in that complex ID'd the picture and said that was him but he was gone. Now from that point on I never got one solid lead out of all the inquiries I made in the past 40 some years until June. Hey to you Karen Stark Stark psychologist joining me out of Manhattan at karenstark.com Karen with a C Karen what is it

in the human psyche that makes you or some people never give up some people give up immediately but others never give up on their quest what is that that hope that belief that you will succeed? Well, if you think about it, Nancy, it's the kind of story that you hear all the time.

I'm thinking of, you know, the popular TV show, The Fugitive, and Les Mis, you know, where there's a police, an officer who has to get that person. They are just driven to get revenge, to make sure that the person is punished. And that becomes their life quest in a way. You know, David DiPietro, I don't know that I'd call it revenge. That's an ugly word. I would think you'd call it seeking justice. How does that go down a little bit better? Yeah, and solving crimes, right? And making sure that people serve the time for the crimes that they've committed. So I think this is a natural human way of believing that we deal with things in a democracy where we have a criminal justice system, for sure. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Guys, we are talking about a cop that never gave up after being shot as a rookie. Can't believe it when the perp actually escaped and goes on the run, hiding out over 40 years, seemingly disappearing, blending in, just vanishing into thin air. Take a listen now to our friend Jerry Hojola, KUSA 9. Daryl Cinquanta was a cop in Denver when this escaped California convict shot him in the stomach in 1971. The timeline of events is a bit complicated, but in short, the shooter, Lawrence Pusateri, was convicted of the crime but escaped again from Colorado 46 years ago. And since then, Daryl has been trying to find him. During that time, Darrell retired from the police department and started his own private investigation firm. But he never stopped making phone calls and doing door knocks in hopes of tracking down

the man who shot him. Wow. Take a listen one more time to Jeremy Hojola, KUSA 9 News. 46 years later, now the clear blue, I get a phone call. Well, this person gives me his address, his alias and other facts that, you know, meant nothing at the time. Darrell finds a man named Ramon Montoya living in Española, New Mexico, for the past 40 years. He found a drunk driving case on his record and a mugshot. Darrell was convinced it was the guy he's been looking for. Española police and the FBI got involved and confirmed Lawrence Pusateri was living a lie.

His tattoos matched up. And they surrounded it with a SWAT unit and they went in and got him. I'm reveling in the fact that I got him. And they're going to extradite him back and I'm going to try to see him. I would love to sit down and talk to him. So he may or may not talk to me. Who knows? And with me, that cop, the cop who lived. Back to you, Daryl Sequanta, author of The Blue Chameleon, Ramon Montoya. Tell me about getting that phone call.

How did that happen, the call that cracked the case wide open? Well, I think it was due to years and years of rattling all their cages and going to informants, family members, bad guys. I mean, you know, I, I have a feeling that, uh, the person that called me, I had talked to previously when I don't know. But, uh, when I got the call, it was interesting that this guy says, you know, I've been thinking about it and I'm going to tell you where the guy is that shot him. So I immediately start writing, you know, he gives me this information and I take that information and I turn it into a lot of information. Where were you when you got the call? Home. When you heard the voice, did you recognize it? No, no, I have no clue who the person was. Haven't you ever done Star 69, for Pete's sake?

It was blocked, and I don't really care who it was. Why do I care? To thank them? He gave me a gift. You darn right. Guys, take a listen to our friend Matt Morrow at Fox 31. Archuleta, who was wanted by the FBI, was on the run for decades. but he was arrested on Wednesday and he was arrested on Wednesday on Fox 31. Archuleta, who was wanted by the FBI was on the run for decades, but it

turns out he didn't run very far. He was hiding out here in Espanola, New Mexico, a small city about 25 miles north of Santa Fe. Back in June, the FBI in Espanola police got a tip that the wanted fugitive was hiding in plain sight and arrested him Wednesday with plans to bring him back to Colorado. And that tip, it came from former officer Cinquanta, who more than 40 years later never gave up searching for

the man who almost ended his career and life. So all of this begs the question, how did former officer Daryl Cinquanta find that the man who shot him was hiding out in New Mexico? That, he won't say, I'll protect a source. So is that true? Daryl Cinquanta, you still won't tell me who your source is? Because I find it very hard to believe. If I knew. You didn't recognize it. You couldn't star 69.

It came out of the blue. You never tried to find them. Hmm. That's some deep throat going on right there that's what you call a confidential informant i mean very confidential i'll tell you what i wouldn't have told him or you or anybody if i knew you know i wouldn't put the person in that position but you said the words were i've been thinking about it and i've decided I'm going to tell you where he is. Yep.

Which means. It's exactly the words. Which means, I think you're right. It is somebody at some point that you contacted. I believe it. I believe that. Because how would they know to contact you at that time? Were you already retired?

Oh, sure. Yeah. Why? I retired in 1990 so how would they find you and hook you back up with the guy that shot you and and got away how was the under the name Ramon Montoya living what did he do for a living well I didn't know at the time I mean I can tell you what I did with the information what I found okay very interesting tell you what I did with the information and what I found, which is very interesting. Tell me.

Well, I took the name, number one, and I was in shock when I found a database entry. So that means he's in all databases, and he has all these addresses. He has a phony date of birth, a social security number, prior addresses in a database under Ramon Montoya. So that's interesting in itself. That means he's been at these places for some time under this alias. So when I found the 2011 DWAI, I pulled the mugshot, and it was him. I mean, I knew it was him. I could tell by the head shape. Now, this guy has changed, obviously, And it was him. I mean, I knew it was him. I could tell by the head shape.

Now, this guy has changed, obviously. But it was him. Yeah, I'm looking at the before and after shot. And, you know, that can trick a lot of people, David DiPietro, South Florida, former prosecutor, now trial lawyer. Because you look at the before and the after. And what strikes me, he does have an odd-shaped head. Have you ever heard of Hercule Poirot, David DiPietro? and the after. And what strikes me, he does have an odd-shaped head. Have you ever heard of Hercule Poirot, David DiPietro? He's a sleuth in Agatha Christie novels,

and she describes his head as being egg-shaped. And his head is egg-shaped with the tiny part on the top. But his nose, to me, and the shape of his mouth and those piercing brown eyes and the shape of how his eyebrows just go suddenly down at the edges. They go down and then they take another shot. 40 years progression. David DiPietro, sometimes that can mess up an eyewitness when age, when time has passed. I don't think you forget the person that shot you even 40 years later, but the tattoos don't ever go away.

They always stick around. Oh, yeah, let's talk about the tattoos. They're usually identifiable. Good point, DiPietro. What were the tattoos? Do you know Ray Caputo? What were the tattoos? Apparently, he had a softer side, Nancy.

He had, like, Gloria tattooed on one of his arms. On the other, he had, like, a woman's face and a butterfly. I believe they had a rosary. But they were very distinctive tattoos, you know. So it does make me wonder why, just based on his tattoos, he wasn't more recognizable through the years. Okay, wait a minute. What?

Is this true? Daryl Cinquanta, he had a butterfly tattoo? Yeah, he did. What else? He just described him, you know. Gloria. You know, the Gloria was on a face. I believe it was on his upper right arm, and it said Gloria on a face of a female, and below that, I think,

is where the butterfly is, but he had four distinctive tattoos, but, you know, guys like him will wear a long-sleeved shirt the rest of his life not to show the tattoos. I'm sure he knew he was on America's Most Wanted, and they showed all his tattoos. Does anybody know how he was living under the radar? What did he do for a living? I do. What? Tell me. I mean, I suspect, and here's why.

That DWAI arrest, they booked him, and they fingerprinted him. And when we, not only me, but the FBI and Espanola Police, Abraham Baca, went to retrieve those fingerprints, they're gone. Okay. To me, that means he has somebody helping him so he not only had somebody helping him in the police department but also in dmv because he had a driver's license under the phony name of course yeah because under the fingerprint database as soon as he got booked that should have popped up immediately that he was well it should have gone to the fbi for comparison and i don't know how they do it today but we always sent the card

sent the arrest to the fbi and they would check the person to see if it's phony and he's actually wanted under another identity based on the fingerprint lewis luis archuleta, a.k.a. Lawrence Pusateri, a.k.a. Ramon Montoya, now behind bars. So, Daryl Cinquanta, have you ever got to sit down and talk to him? No, no. I think he's back in Colorado. I haven't verified it yet. Why do you want to talk to him? What do you want to say? Oh, the first thing I would say to him, I would congratulate him for staying hidden this long. I mean, that's a feat. I don't think that's exactly what I would say.

Why not? I love talking to criminals, and as a policeman, I talk to them all the time. And you learn from them. Well, not all of them have shot you in the gut or wherever he shot you. That's true. And let me say this now. This wasn't a revenge deal, okay? I took it personal but this was uh cops

and robbers and uh gave uh you know me something to work on on the side all these years try to find him what's the name of your uh pi company uh professional investigators professional investigators inc well daryl cinquanta and I'm easy to find, by the way. So this person that called me wouldn't have a hard time getting my phone number. And I've had the same phone number since 1970. So I'm not hard to find. You know what, Darrell? I'm always reporting on murder and child molestation.

I got to tell you something. I'm so happy to talk to you and that we have just for today, a happy ending. God bless you, man. It is a happy ending. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart podcast