U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
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U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation |
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| In Reply, Please Refer to Release No. |
219 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 60604 |
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June 16, 2004 Chicago Area "Top Ten Fugitive" Arrested Thomas J. Kneir, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Joseph E. Birkett, DuPage County State's Attorney; Timothy J. McCann, Kendall County State's Attorney; Richard A. Randall, Kendall County Sheriff and Mark Field, Chief of the Wheaton, Illinois Police Department announced today the arrest of MICHAEL ALFONSO, age 35, whose last known residence was in Wheaton, Illinois. ALFONSO was taken into custody last night, without incident, by officers of the Mexican Federal Investigative Police and Mexican Immigration Service in Vera Cruz, Vera Cruz, Mexico. ALFONSO has been the subject of an international manhunt since he as added to the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list in January of 2003. ALFONSO has been charged by local authorities in DuPage County with the June 2001 murder of Genoveva Velasquez and by local authorities in Kendall County with the 1992 murder of Sumanear Yang. Both crimes were investigated by the Wheaton, Illinois Police Department. On May 8th, of this year, ALFONSO's case was profiled on the television show America's Most Wanted. A viewer of this show recognized ALFONSO and provided information about his current whereabouts to FBI agents assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Working closely with Mexican authorities, ALFONSO was traced to the City of Vera Cruz, where he was taken into custody. ALFONSO was expelled from Mexico this morning for immigration violations and will be returned to Chicago sometime in the next several days. In announcing this arrest, Mr. Kneir praised the efforts of the Mexican authorities, whose prompt response and diligence led to the arrest of ALFONSO. Mr. Kneir also added " I hope that the arrest of Michael Alfonso will bring some closure to the families of Ms. Yang and Ms. Velasquez, who have been waiting years for this day to come." Established in 1950, the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list has profiled the cases of 478 wanted fugitives, resulting in the arrest or location of 448. Of those arrested or located, 146 have been the direct result of citizen involvement. Additional information about the ALFONSO investigation and the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" program is available on-line at www.fbi.gov. TALFONSO's case has been profiled on America's Most Wanted a total of seven times, dating to June of 2001, with the most recent airing on May 8th of this year. AFLONSO is the 801st fugitive profiled on the show to be apprehended. Additional information on this case is also available at www.amw.com. |
