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JUSTICE IN THE INTERNATIONAL 

EXTRADITION SYSTEM: THE CASE OF 

GEORGE WRIGHT AND BEYOND 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND 

COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JULY 11, 2012 

Printed for the use of the 

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe 

[CSCE 112–2–8] 

( 

Available via http://www.csce.gov 
COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS 

HOUSE SENATE 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, 

Chairman 

JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania 

ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama 

PHIL GINGREY, Georgia 

MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas 

ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida 

LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER, 

New York 

MIKE McINTYRE, North Carolina 

STEVE COHEN, Tennessee 

BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland, 

Co-Chairman 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire 

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 

SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia 

MARCO RUBIO, Florida 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS 

MICHAEL H. POSNER, Department of State 

MICHAEL C. CAMUN ̃ EZ, Department of Commerce 

ALEXANDER VERSHBOW, Department of Defense 

[II] 
JUSTICE IN THE INTERNATIONAL 

EXTRADITION SYSTEM: THE CASE OF 

GEORGE WRIGHT AND BEYOND 

JULY 11, 2012 

COMMISSIONERS 

Page 

Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe .............................................. 1 

Hon. Steve Cohen, Commissioner, Commission on Security 

and Cooperation in Europe ..................................................... 3 

WITNESSES 

Ann Patterson, Daughter of Walter Patterson ......................... 4 

R.J. Gallagher, Retired FBI Special Agent ............................... 7 

Jonathan M. Winer, Senior Director, APCO Worldwide, 

Washington, DC, and Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Law Enforcement .............. 11 

Granddaughter of Walter Patterson .......................................... 21 

Granddaughter of Walter Patterson .......................................... 22 

APPENDICES 

Prepared statement of Hon. Christopher H. Smith ................. 28 

Prepared statement of Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin .................... 29 

Prepared statement of Ann Patterson ....................................... 30 

Prepared statement of R.J. Gallagher ....................................... 33 

Prepared statement of Jonathan M. Winer .............................. 36 

Materials for the Record ............................................................. 42 

[III] 

(1) 

JUSTICE IN THE INTERNATIONAL 

EXTRADITION SYSTEM: THE CASE OF 

GEORGE WRIGHT AND BEYOND 

July 11, 2012 

COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE

WASHINGTON, DC 

The hearing was held at 2 p.m. in room 2203, Rayburn House 

Office Building, Washington, DC, Hon. Christopher H. Smith, 

Chairman, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, 

presiding. 

Commissioners present: Hon. Christopher H. Smith, Chairman, 

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and Hon. 

Steve Cohen, Commissioner, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. 

Witnesses present: Ann Patterson, Daughter of Walter Patterson; 

R.J. Gallagher, Retired FBI Special Agent; Jonathan M. Winer, 

Senior Director, APCO Worldwide, Washington, DC, and Former 

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Law Enforcement; Granddaughter of Walter Patterson; and Granddaughter 

of Walter Patterson. 

HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON 

SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

Mr. SMITH. The Commission will come to order. And I want to 

thank and welcome all of you to this very important hearing of the 

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. 

In September of 2011, hopes were raised high when the FBI announced that George Wright, a fugitive for over 41 years, had been 

located in Portugal and had been taken into custody pursuant to 

a provisional arrest request from the United States. There were 

hopes for accountability, some justice and, for the family he murdered in Wall Township in 1962, for at least some closure to a 

nightmare. 

In 1963 George Wright was convicted in connection with a gas 

station robbery, during which Walter Patterson, a decorated World 

War II veteran and Bronze Star recipient—and that’s him in that 

picture, obviously—was beaten and shot to death. Wright was subsequently sentenced to 15 to 30 years, but in 1970 escaped from 

Leesburg State Prison, now renamed Bayside State Prison, located 

in New Jersey. In 1972 he and four other men hijacked a Detroitto-Miami flight. They flew the plane to Algeria, where Algerian authorities allowed them to disappear. 
2 

In 1976 four of the hijackers were located and arrested in 

France. France refused to extradite them to the United States, but 

tried them in France instead. Following convictions, two of the hijackers spent a mere three years in prison, and two others spent 

two and a half years. George Wright, however, was not among 

those caught. For 41 years George Wright’s whereabouts were unknown, and he built a life based on lies and deception. 

When George Wright was located in Portugal last year, the Patterson family naturally thought that, as a convicted felon and prison escapee, he would be speedily returned to the United States to 

finish serving the sentence he received for the murder of Walter 

Patterson. Portugal, after all, is a close ally, committed to the rule 

of law and has a long-standing extradition agreement with the 

United States. Shockingly, a Portuguese court rejected the United 

States’ extradition request last November, and efforts to reverse 

that decision have now apparently ceased. The Patterson family, so 

deeply wounded by the murder of their beloved family member and 

then by the murderer’s escape—and now are bewildered and angry 

at Portugal’s refusal to extradite George Wright. 

Today’s hearing will examine what happened in this case—and 

it is the first in a series—and what can be done to promptly return 

Wright to an American prison and the broader question it raises 

about the international extradition system. 

On behalf of the Commission, I welcome Ann Patterson, Walter 

Patterson’s daughter, who along with her family have suffered irreparable harm from the brutal violence committed against her beloved father by George Wright. Words are inadequate to convey my 

and the Commission’s abiding respect, empathy and condolences to 

you and your family on your excruciating loss and my disappointment, which I share with you, in Portugal. 

Ann will testify in part that the $70 that George Wright and 

Walter McGhee stole wasn’t enough. They had to beat my father, 

she says, beyond recognition. George Wright was identified by the 

imprints of the stock of his gun on my father’s skin, she’ll tell us. 

Her testimony is riveting. Her testimony opens up and gives us an 

insight into the enormous pain that she and the family have suffered. 

The Commission will also hear from R.J. Gallagher, a retired 

FBI agent who has done extensive work on the case, breakthrough 

work on the case, and has had an extraordinary career with the 

FBI. So we thank you, the Commission, for your service on behalf 

of all Americans for the wonderful law enforcement work you have 

done over the course of your lifetime. 

Finally, we will hear from Jonathan Winer, a senior director of 

APCO Worldwide, Washington, D.C., and former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for international law enforcement. And 

also, he worked for 10 years for Senator Currie and has been tenacious working on law enforcement issues, particularly at State. 

On George Wright, Mr. Winer exposes the utter indefensibility of 

the Portuguese court’s decision not to extradite George Wright; why 

Portugal can still do the right thing by revoking his citizenship, 

which he secured through immigration fraud; and how the U.S. can 

and must pursue Wright through INTERPOL, and many other very 
3 

important recommendations that I hope that the State Department, the Justice Department, Congress, all of us take to heart. 

Finally, let me note that the Commission had requested a representative of the Obama Administration to be here to answer 

questions of what has and what can be done to bring George 

Wright to justice. The Commission was informed that Bruce 

Swartz, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, wasn’t available for today’s hearing. So on behalf of the Commission, I will reissue our request for 

Mr. Swartz or any other appropriate official from the administration to testify at a subsequent hearing. 

In like manner, the Commission invited the Portuguese ambassador, Nuno Brito, who was also unavailable due to a scheduling 

conflict. And like with Mr. Swartz or whoever the administration 

would like to send, the Commission will request Ambassador 

Brito’s testimony at a follow-up hearing that will be scheduled 

around his availability as well. 

Again, I’d like to now turn to my good friend and colleague Mr. 

Cohen and ask for any opening comments that he might have. 

HON. STEVE COHEN, COMMISSIONER, COMMISSION ON 

SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 

Mr. COHEN. Thank you, Mr. Chair. 

I’m interested in hearing the testimony of the witnesses. And to 

Ms. Patterson, I express my regrets. It’s been a long time, but to 

lose your husband—and the person who commits such a crime 

should be held responsible. And what he did in escaping and hijacking that plane is reprehensible as well. 

Reading the record, there’s obviously some positions that the Portuguese government is taking that seems to be adverse to what I 

think is common sense in international law and Helsinki Commission accords. And I hope that we can get to the bottom of the situation. But that what he did to your husband is an offense, and air 

piracy and hijacking, all of which should be extradition offenses. 

And the Portuguese government, I believe—don’t want to pre-judge 

it, but I believe—should extradite him so that he answers for the 

crimes he has committed and the harm that he’s done. 

So I look forward to the testimony and appreciate Mr. Smith 

bringing this hearing, as he always does. And this is bipartisanship. While the Obama Administration may not be here, I assure 

you that it’s not because they’re not interested and this is bipartisan and that we’re concerned about it as well. 

Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my time. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Cohen, for your comments. 

And I’d like to now introduce our witnesses, beginning first with 

Ann Patterson. And you know, when we asked how she would like 

to be described, she just said daughter of Walter Patterson. And 

frankly, that is enough, you know, a woman who has children and 

grandchildren, some of whom are with us today, and a woman, like 

her family, has suffered irreparable harm. 

We’ll then hear from Mr. Gallagher, who I mentioned earlier is 

a former FBI special agent from 1986 to 2011, retired just short of 

the 25 years. And he also served as an officer for the United States 

Navy for five years. 
4 

And then, Jonathan, you’ll be next, if you would. And I just 

would point out a couple of things from his re ́sume ́. He actually received a distinguished honor from the Secretary of State, Madeline 

Albright, for his service in the State Department. The award stated 

that he created the capacity of the department and the U.S. government to deal with international crime and criminal justice as 

important foreign policy functions and that, quote, ‘‘the scope and 

significance of his achievements are virtually unprecedented for 

any single official.’’ 

So three very, very distinguished people. 

And Ann, if you could proceed. 

ANN PATTERSON, DAUGHTER OF WALTER PATTERSON 

Ms. PATTERSON Mr. Chairman, my name is Ann Patterson, and 

I am the daughter of Walter Patterson. My father was robbed, brutally beaten, and shot in his gas station in Wall Township, New 

Jersey, on November 23rd, 1962. He died of his injuries on November 25th, 1962. I was 14 years old, and my sister Kaye was 13. 

My father was a quiet, sensitive person. The gas station was his 

American dream, and he was so happy to be able to have his own 

business. He worked 16- to 18-hour days to support our family. 

Daddy’s name is also on the Patterson honor roll of soldiers, part 

of a family that has fought in all our country’s wars. At age 21, he 

went to Europe and served our country for four years during World 

War II. He was a TEC 5 and a truck driver/mechanic and was 

awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service. 

It was the day after Thanksgiving, and Daddy had come home 

for supper. It was about 4:30 when he got into his truck to go back 

to work. I stood at the kitchen window waving goodbye, and that 

was the last time I saw him alive. About five hours later the phone 

rang, and I answered it. Aunt Jennie said, Walt’s been shot, and 

I screamed, no, no, no, and called my mother to the phone. I was 

crying, told my sister, and she started crying. 

My mother was not well. She called Uncle Charles to take her 

to the hospital. 

When she got there, she couldn’t recognize my father. She later 

told us they had beaten him to a pulp. The doctor operated from 

about 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. and told my mother he thought he 

had gotten all the bone fragments. When I asked her what Daddy 

had to say, she told me that he couldn’t talk because his jaw was 

wired shut. He was wild with pain and could not be given anything 

for it since he had head injuries. He had to be restrained in the 

bed. The doctor told my mother that seizures were to be expected 

with this type of injury, and Daddy had a seizure on Saturday 

night. 

Kaye and I had been scared to death to stay home alone on Friday night, so we rode to the hospital with Uncle Dick and Aunt 

Ginny as they took my mother to see Daddy on Saturday night. 

Aunt Ginny asked my mother if she had told us what we were 

going to see, but my mother did not allow us to see Daddy, and we 

waited in the car. Daddy was in critical condition, and no one except immediate family was allowed in. The doctor told my mother 

that if Daddy came through this, he would be a vegetable and need 

a lot of care. 
5 

On Sunday evening the doctor was talking to my mother in the 

hallway about my father’s condition when the nurse came to them 

and told them he had passed away. They allowed my mother to 

spend some time alone with him. When she came home, Uncle Dick 

and Aunt Ginny were each holding her arms and helping her to the 

house. I looked at Kaye, and I said, Daddy died. 

The viewing was Tuesday, and the funeral home asked for a 

photo of Daddy so they could make him look like the picture. Does 

that sound odd to you? My father was unrecognizable in his casket. 

His wavy black hair with a touch of gray was replaced with 

straight black hair combed back. His face was all uneven and 

caked with makeup. I knew he was my Daddy by looking at his 

hands. 

The $70 that George Wright and Walter McGhee stole wasn’t 

enough. They had to beat my father beyond recognition. George 

Wright was identified by the imprints of the stock of his gun on 

my father’s skin. If there had not been such a beating, the doctors 

could have operated on the bullet wound to the abdomen, and it is 

quite possible that Daddy would still be with us today. 

For Kaye and me, the nightmare was just beginning. Since our 

mother was not well, she could not take care of us. We were told 

later that we would be sent to Clinton, a home for wayward girls. 

I later found out that Clinton was in fact a prison for girls. There 

is something wrong with sending the victims to prison while the 

criminals do not have to be incarcerated for their actions. I thank 

God that Uncle Dick stepped in to take care of us. 

Our mother was very ill with a heart condition, and her death 

was hastened by losing Daddy. She passed away 15 months later 

on February 26, 1964, leaving Kaye and me orphaned. In our house 

lived my mother’s aunt and uncle, both of whom passed away during that 15-month period. In just over a year we experienced the 

deaths of all four people we lived with and lost our home. We were 

robbed of normal teenage years. There was no counseling available 

in 1962. We were left to deal with all this sorrow on our own. We 

tried to be strong for our mother while she was still alive. 

It has not been easy to relive all these events during the past 10 

months. The FBI victims specialist suggested I see a counselor, 

which was beneficial to me. One of the problems that came out was 

the nightmares that I suffered from for years after my father’s 

death. The counselor said that I had had post-traumatic stress 

after I described the nightmares to her. I also developed asthma 

and colitis within a few weeks of Daddy’s death. 

The premeditated actions of the four individuals involved in my 

father’s murder have negatively impacted five generations of the 

Patterson family. I have already spoken about my parents and my 

sister and me. My mother’s uncle who lived with us refused food 

when he learned of this tragedy. He said, I don’t want to stay in 

a world where this is allowed to happen. And he died four months 

later. My grandfather never spoke my father’s name again without 

crying and told me they didn’t have to beat him up so bad. My father’s seven grandchildren were deprived of a loving grandfather, 

and they are angry at the injustice exhibited in the past 10 

months. 
6 

But the saddest to me are the hurt reactions of my father’s 14 

great-grandchildren. One of them saw the clip on TV of the capture 

and asked, what is wrong with people, not knowing it was about 

her great-grandfather. Another one curled up in a corner of the 

couch and, crying, asked if he could escape again. Five generations 

of fear and hurt are five too many. 

George Wright cannot erase his life of crime. He is fraudulently 

a Portuguese citizen. Four aliases do not change the fact that he 

was born George Edward Wright in the United States of America 

and committed crimes during his years here. When he chose the 

crime, he also chose the punishment, as they go hand in hand. 

George Wright did not give my father a choice on November 23rd, 

1962, and so he should not have a choice about not serving his sentence. He does not owe Portugal time; he owes the United States. 

George Wright is not sorry for what he did. There has been no 

apology to the Patterson family. On the contrary, he has made this 

all about himself and basked in the limelight. To want to profit 

from a book and movie highlighting his heinous acts against the 

Patterson family is a slap in the face. He is not the victim here; 

we are. George Wright is a convicted murderer who lived a life of 

violence, then fled and lived a life of lies. Now his past has caught 

up with him, and he needs to come back here and serve his sentence. 

In light of all the recent media coverage, I have been approached 

by many people who have expressed their disgust toward this man 

and this situation. I feel it is a disgrace that our justice system has 

failed in assuring a proper punishment for this crime. This whole 

case sets a terrible precedent for this country, both here and worldwide. It is a negative towards decent citizens and a positive for 

criminals. 

The failure of extradition has affected us in the following ways: 

one, fear of a known criminal on the loose; two, fear of reprisal 

from criminal—both of these fears are now 50 years long—three, 

makes a mockery of the crime against my father—did his life matter; four, has perpetuated our pain and loss; five, loss of any kind 

of confidence in the criminal justice system, from the local branch 

which gave too lenient a sentence to the state branch that put a 

convicted murderer on a minimum security work farm to the federal branch who have backed down to Portugal in the matter of extradition. The case was dropped before the final appeal was filed. 

It is one thing to do all you can, another to give up before you exhaust all avenues. 

I have asked if there are any other avenues of justice such as 

withholding aid and have not been given an answer. 

Don’t we have a right to seek justice for our father? Our family 

has been emotionally affected by injustice in the following ways: 

One, no closure—this is still an emotionally draining, open wound; 

two, we have family members and friends across this entire nation 

who are appalled at the injustice of trying to obtain justice; three, 

we are not happy that George Wright wants to do a book and a 

movie and capitalize on his inhumane treatment of our father; four, 

we were extremely upset when we read in the newspaper that the 

final appeal had been dropped—I was told that I would be notified 

of any decision so that I wouldn’t be blindsided upon learning 
7 

something from the media—five, on a personal level, this has split 

my family in two. Some members support efforts to obtain justice, 

and some cannot emotionally face the details of this crime to even 

talk about it. 

What can be done? Here are my suggestions: Number one, reinstate the death penalty for criminals convicted of heinous crimes. 

Such a strong penalty may act as a deterrent. Two, put pressure 

on Portugal. I understand there is an extradition treaty from 1907 

to this effect. Three, do not send any financial aid to Portugal. 

Four, form a committee at the state level to double-check paper 

work so that errors like this can’t happen again. Five, support and 

pass Illinois Senator Richard Durbin’s Bringing Fugitives to Justice Act. And six, nothing that any of us say or do will bring my 

father back, but if we can look ahead and help the countless number of children who are similarly affected or will be affected by 

senseless crimes, then all of our efforts will not have been done in 

vain. 

There is no conclusion to my story. It has not occurred yet, for 

the conclusion now rests in the hands of the politicians. The FBI 

and the U.S. Marshals have done their job in locating this fugitive, 

and we thank them. I have done all I can by telling about our family events from November 23rd to November 25th, 1962, and the 

impact of this despicable crime. On behalf of the Patterson family, 

I ask you to please bring justice for the untimely death of my father, Walter Patterson. Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH. Ms. Patterson, thank you very much for that extraordinarily moving testimony and the tenacity that you have brought 

to trying to bring this man to justice, and for thanking the FBI and 

the marshal service for the extraordinary work they’ve done in 

tracking him down. We need to do our job, those of us in the executive as well as, in our case, the legislative branch. And I thank you 

for that. 

I’d like to now—we do have a vote on right now, but we do have 

some time. Mr. Gallagher, if you could proceed with your testimony 

and—thank you. 

R.J. GALLAGHER, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT 

Mr. GALLAGHER. Yes. Good afternoon. My name is R.J. Gallagher. I’m a retired FBI agent. And at the risk of some redundancy, 

I’d like to acquaint members with the background of George 

Wright. 

On Friday night of Thanksgiving weekend in 1962, George 

Wright and two others robbed and mortally wounded Walter Patterson, a service station proprietor in Wall Township, New Jersey. 

That night, Wright and his co-defendants wore nylon stockings 

over their faces and wore gloves on their hands. Wright carried a 

sawed-off rifle, his co-defendant a cheap handgun. They brought 

with them white adhesive tape for binding of their victims. Earlier 

that same day, Wright and his co-defendants had cut down the 

rifle, bought ammunition and had test-fired the weapon. They also 

had driven around the Jersey shore area looking for prospective 

places to rob. 

At around 9:30 p.m. that night, when Wright and a co-defendant 

entered Walt Patterson’s Esso gas station on Route 33, they were 
8 

committing their second armed robbery of the night. This robbery, 

the one about to take place, unlike the first did not go as planned. 

For it would appear that Walt Patterson was not sufficiently compliant or quick enough to the demands of the robbers, and a fight 

ensued. 

Wright and his co-defendant repeatedly rained blows to the head 

and shoulders of Walter Patterson with their weapons. At some 

point the handgun carried by the co-defendant fired, and Walter 

Patterson was struck in the abdomen. He fell to the floor. The two 

robbers fled, taking with them about $70. Both robbers were very 

aware that their victim was shot and wounded, yet they left him 

alone on the floor of his gas station. They did not place an anonymous call to anyone to get Walter Patterson medical attention. Instead, using the money proceeds from their two robberies that 

evening, they went out and partied. They dined, they drank and 

they played pool until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. 

Investigation over the next two days led to the identification and 

arrest of the persons involved in the robbery/murder. This included 

George Wright. All the physical evidence was recovered: guns, 

stocking masks, gloves, ammunition. All the arrested gave full confessions. 

On January 28th, 1963, Wright pled ‘‘non vult’’ to a murder indictment. By this plea Wright did not contest his guilt, and he 

waived his right to trial. This plea allowed Wright to receive a 30- 

year maximum sentence, as opposed to life had he gone to trial and 

been convicted. On February 15th, 1963, Wright was sentenced to 

a prison term of not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years. 

At this point I’d like to just take a break from Wright’s crime 

chronology and state that I have read in numerous media accounts 

subsequent to Wright’s arrest that Wright has stated that since he 

did not fire the shot that killed Walter Patterson, he is not guilty 

of the crime of murder. First, both of Wright’s co-defendants stated 

that in the immediate aftermath of this crime, Wright told them 

he had fired. Nine bullets from the sawed-off rifle Wright carried 

were found on the floor of the service station. 

The presiding judge at the time of Wright’s sentencing went on 

record stating that these nine rounds on the floor indicated 

Wright’s intentions to—Wright’s intention and attempt to fire his 

weapon but that the weapon had malfunctioned. 

But regardless of Wright’s intent, attempt or belief that he had 

fired or that he had not fired, it was the law of the state of New 

Jersey that if a person committing a robbery kills another or death 

ensues during the robbery, that person is guilty of murder. 

I have also read that there is to be some mitigation for the crime 

when considering the age of George Wright, as he was 19 years old 

at the time. Here it should be noted that Walter Patterson, his victim, was barely a much riper 21 when he entered the U.S. Army 

shortly after Pearl Harbor. Walter Patterson then served in the 

Army for near four years until the war was over. Of his time in 

the Army, 2 and a half years was spent over in Europe in the eastern theater of operations. 

Back to the Wright timeline: On August 22nd, 1970, Wright and 

others escaped from the New Jersey State Prison. At this time 
9 

Wright had served seven years, seven months and 25 days. Wright 

has remained a fugitive from U.S. justice since this date. 

On July 31st, 1972, Wright and four others, to include one of the 

persons he escaped with, hijacked a Delta Airlines DC-8 en route 

from Detroit to Miami. The hijackers were accompanied by three 

of their small children. Wright was dressed in the garb of religious 

clergy. Wright was the eldest and the leader of the hijackers. He 

wielded a handgun, gave the orders and issued the threats. He 

pointed a cocked weapon to the head of the airline pilot, Captain 

William May. Once landed in Miami, Wright demanded $1 million 

and threatened that if his demands were not met, he would toss 

bodies out of the plane. 

Wright and his fellow hijackers received the million-dollar ransom, and they released approximately 80 passengers. The flight 

crew was not released and were forced to fly the plane and the hijackers first to Boston and then on to Algiers, Algeria. Algerian authorities seized the $1 million and the plane, returning them both 

to the U.S. The hijackers, however, were allowed their freedom and 

eventually made their way to France. 

Wright and the four other adults were all indicted for air piracy 

in the United States on August 3rd, 1972. While in Algeria, Wright 

and the other hijackers made a videoed press statement, and as 

part of that statement the speaker stated, among other things, that 

the hijackers were revolutionaries. In May of 1976, four of the hijackers—the lone exception being George Wright—were arrested by 

French authorities for the 1972 air piracy. In 1978, France tried 

these four for the air piracy, and they were all convicted of same. 

And so to this day, Wright has not served his sentence for his 

homicide conviction, nor has he been tried for the indicted charge 

of air piracy. 

My involvement in this matter began in 1994 when I reopened 

the New Jersey fugitive investigation regarding Wright. I worked 

it until my retirement in July 2011. The United States Marshals 

and the New Jersey Department of Corrections joined the investigation in approximately 2003. Since the case was reopened, most 

all the techniques used in fugitive investigations were employed. 

These would include but not be limited to: interviews, both domestic and abroad; notification to national law—to international law 

enforcement; court orders; human intelligence; cooperation of foreign law enforcement. Specifically, fingerprints, age-enhanced 

sketches and computer images were produced and distributed. The 

United States Marshals commissioned the making of an age-enhanced bust. All three agencies played a vital and significant part 

in this investigation. And just as an aside, to my mind it was a 

model of organic and ad hoc interagency cooperation. 

In March of 2010 the Portuguese police notified the FBI legal 

attache ́ in Madrid that they had positively identified the person living in Portugal under the name of Jose ́ Luı ́s Jorge dos Santos as 

George Wright. This they did, unknown to Wright, by comparison 

of photographs they had on file for Santos with those of George 

Wright. 

In September of 2010, six months after the positive identification, myself and attorneys from the Department of Justice Office 

of International Affairs met with Portuguese law enforcement and 
10 

prosecutors in Lisbon, Portugal. The purpose of this meeting was 

for the United States to seek Portuguese legal input and to work 

together so that the United States might produce an extradition request with the greatest chance of success. 

I would characterize these meetings as both positive and productive. All the parties agreed that extradition could proceed for U.S. 

person George Wright. Further, there was agreement that George 

Wright was using a made-up name of Jose ́ Santos and had in fact 

provided false pedigree information to the Portuguese government 

as regards to his name, place of birth and parentage. 

One issue remained unresolved. Portugal saw as barrier to extradition Wright’s exposure to a 25-year sentence of incarceration for 

an air piracy conviction. They viewed this as the equivalent of a 

death sentence, and therefore that would serve as basis for the denial. 

Moving along, well over a year had passed since the positive 

identification had been made, and this issue proved to be intractable. And no extradition request had yet to be submitted. In May 

of 2010, the decision was made to tender the extradition request 

based solely on Wright’s homicide conviction. I participated in this 

decision and supported it fully. In fact, it was probably done at my 

instigation; so if hindsight determines this is a bad call, I am solely 

to blame. 

Portuguese law enforcement arrested George Wright in September of 2011. Since his arrest, the Portuguese courts have denied 

the United States’ extradition request for Wright. It is my understanding they cited the following in their ruling: One, too much 

time had passed, and there must be closure to criminal cases. Two, 

Wright’s integration into Portuguese society demanded that extradition be denied on humanitarian grounds. Both these two reasons 

cited per DOJ are not—per DOJ are just not recognized as basis 

for denial of extradition per our treaty with Portugal. And third, 

the court found that Wright is a Portuguese citizen. This is where 

the matter now stands. 

Looking forward and beyond George Wright, each nation is free 

to choose its own criteria for citizenship. This is how it is and how 

it should always be. But it would seem that each nation would 

have self-interest in seeking an obligation from prospective citizens 

seeking naturalization, for them to tell the truth regarding their 

identity and any information they give the government. This would 

obviously provide for the safety and security of the nation’s own security. George Wright provided false information to Portuguese authorities, it would seem, because if he provided his true identity, 

not only would citizenship be denied but he would probably be arrested. 

In August of 1972 George Wright was indicted on the criminal 

charge of air piracy. If one looks at the elements of the crime 

Wright committed, this same act committed today would potentially be charged as an act of terrorism. And for such a charge, the 

extradition treaty between U.S. and Portugal states that Portuguese citizens can and will be extradited for terrorism. I actually 

could not imagine that this crime, taking place today, would not be 

charged as terrorism. 
11 

And specifically with return to George Wright, I’ve seen numerous media accounts post-arrest that suggest for some time he has 

led a good life and that he has in fact rehabilitated. This is perhaps 

a valid argument, and he might have a case for such. But there remains only one place that can decide if such an argument is valid, 

and that is here in the United States where he committed his 

crimes, in front of a court or a parole board of proper jurisdiction. 

I would encourage George Wright to come and make his argument. 

Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Gallagher, thank you so very much for that very 

extensive background, as well as for your work dating back to 

1994. And thank you so much for that. 

I’d like to now ask Mr. Winer, if you would proceed with your 

testimony. 

JONATHAN M. WINER, SENIOR DIRECTOR, APCO WORLDWIDE, 

WASHINGTON, DC, AND FORMER U.S. DEPUTY ASSISTANT 

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INTERNATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT 

Mr. WINER. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Cohen and honorable members 

of the Commission: As former deputy assistant secretary of state 

for international law enforcement, I’m honored to testify, to share 

my views regarding the international extradition system and options for the United States when a foreign legal system frustrates 

justice. I ask that my full written statement be placed in the 

record. 

Mr. SMITH. Without objection. 

Mr. WINER. During my tenure in the State Department and 

since, our government has worked to vindicate one underlying goal 

with regard to fugitives: to secure their return to the United States 

to provide justice regardless of the criminal’s location. I have 10 

points to make about how to apply this principle to the George 

Wright case and more generally. 

First, the decision by the Portuguese judge to refuse Wright’s extradition to the United States is legally indefensible under the 

century-old U.S.-Portuguese extradition treaty and under the principles of extradition law internationally. Neither the passage of 

time nor Wright’s citizenship through marriage provide a legitimate basis for the Portuguese judge to deny extradition, let alone 

humanitarian factors that have been asserted. This is simply legally wrong. 

The statute of limitations protects people from belated prosecutions, not fugitive escapees from prison after their convictions. It is 

also an abuse to refuse to extradite a citizen of another country 

who’s escaped prison and only later becomes a citizen of the country to which he’s fled. The judge’s decision on these two issues is 

legally wrong, morally unjust and should be given no respect whatsoever by any government beyond Portugal. 

Two, Portuguese authorities can still do the right thing to secure 

justice. Wright entered Portugal through immigration fraud, using 

a false name and with a false history about his citizenship and 

birth. It appears these true facts were not known to Portuguese authorities until 2010 or so. If this is correct, Portugal could revoke 

his citizenship and deport him, putting him on a plane to the 
12 

United States or to another country which could turn him over to 

the United States. 

Three, the U.S. can take further steps on its own to use international institutions on this matter. George Wright is currently 

listed by the United States on Interpol’s public wanted database as 

a fugitive. But the public notice is notably out of date. It doesn’t 

list his current name, address or other current personal details. 

This was as of yesterday. This new detailed data could all be provided to Interpol by the United States and made publicly available 

to every citizen of the world. The U.S. could ask Europol, Europe’s 

police institution, to track him down and to arrest him if he ventures beyond Portugal. And FBI legal attache ́s could make the 

same request with their EU counterparts. 

Four, the U.S. has a reward program for the rendition of important fugitives. One part of that’s administered by my former bureau, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement. 

The State Department could issue a reward for information or 

other assistance that secures the return of Wright to the United 

States. A reward might lead to a citizen’s arrest in which people 

grab him and put Wright into U.S. custody. This approach has 

been upheld by the Supreme Court. Indeed, the Justice Department’s internal procedures expressly allow the use of bounty hunters and rewards. 

Fifth, the U.S. can itself use lures to entice a criminal fugitive 

to leave a foreign country so he or she can be arrested in international waters or airspace, or brought to the United States or in 

a third country for subsequent extradition, expulsion or deportation. There are a wide range of possibilities for lures potentially applicable to Wright. How will he know whether a book agent or 

movie agent is real and intends to help him publicize his life, or 

is actually an agent of the United States? I hope he has a lot of 

trouble making that distinction in the days to come. 

Sixth, the United States could undertake an extraordinary rendition, in which U.S. government officials take direct action to capture a terrorist—which Wright was—such as snatching Wright as 

he’s going about his day-to-day business, smuggling him into a car 

and then to a boat, and then bringing him to the United States to 

face justice. Notably, the use of such techniques risks significant 

protests on the part of a foreign government such as Portugal and 

can chill the bilateral relationship. This happened when we did it 

in a very important case in Mexico. We did the right thing. The 

Mexicans were angry, but it was the right thing to do after they 

tortured and killed a Drug Enforcement agent—Administration 

agent. And it happened recently in Italy in connection with some 

renditions. But we can still do it if we choose to. 

Seven, the U.S. could apply terrorist economic sanctions to 

Wright, prohibiting transactions with him by any U.S. person and 

freezing any assets he may have in any U.S. financial institution. 

Now, he may not have any in any U.S. financial institution, but 

foreign financial institutions often then apply these sanctions as 

well to protect themselves, and it will certainly inhibit his ability 

to gain any economic advantage from his life story. 

As he stated publicly, he hopes to write a book about his life and 

secure a film deal. U.S. imposition of terrorist sanctions against 
13 

him would make it much more difficult for him to sell the book and 

to profit off his crimes, and might make it possible for profits from 

any of these ventures could be seized by the United States. 

Eight, the U.S. could take steps to punish Portugal for its court’s 

unjust refusal to extradite Wright. Unfortunately, I believe this approach almost certainly would be counterproductive in practice. We 

have all kinds of security arrangements with Portugal. The Portuguese government did not do the wrong thing, as near as I can 

tell here: A Portuguese judge did, a different part of the Portuguese 

government. And for that reason, were I in the State Department, 

I would not support sanctions against Portugal. Regardless, senior 

U.S. officials can be directed to raise this issue with Portuguese 

counterparts, inviting positive steps by Portugal, such as 

denaturalization and deportation, to secure justice, and I certainly 

hope they do that. 

Nine, Congress could strengthen the executive branch’s ability to 

analyze and apply these tools in cases of failed extraditions, such 

as this one. This could be facilitated through a congressional mandate for an annual report on extraditions to Congress covering such 

issues as total extraditions by country, number of extraditions refused, reasons for refusal of extraditions and steps taken by the 

United States in response to a refused extradition. Such a report 

might provide for further focused attention on these issues by both 

the executive branch and by Congress, thereby facilitating the goal 

of securing justice for all. 

I understand any administration might resist putting such information in one place publicly in order to protect confidential intelligence, diplomatic and law enforcement programs, activities and 

relationships. For this reason, Congress may wish to consider 

structuring any such mandate to provide for a public report that 

delivers statistical data and information with a—in classified—publicly, with information on certain matters in a classified appendix. 

Finally—and I know you’re facing a vote—we’re OK? OK. Finally, the U.S. should not give up on this case simply because an 

extradition has failed. A fugitive may be able to run, but should 

never be permitted to hide. George Wright has expressed his relief 

at not being returned to the United States to serve out his prison 

sentence, and being allowed to spend the remainder of his life with 

his wife and his grown children, while profiting off his crimes by 

writing a book about them and seeking a film deal. Walter Patterson and his entire family have been denied such pleasures and 

their fundamental human rights by Wright and his own personally 

chosen criminal acts. 

In this case, and in other cases like this, U.S. policy and the actions our government takes must make sure that murderers and 

terrorists, wherever located, can never breathe the sigh of relief 

that they have reached safety as a result of outlasting law and justice. 

Which of the options I have outlined should be taken in this case 

will depend on careful judgments by those in the U.S. government 

with the most knowledge of the facts about what steps will be 

mostly likely to actually succeed to secure justice here. The Commission may contribute to that process further through ongoing 

dialogue with those who have those responsibilities, including send-
14 

ing specific questions to relevant components of the U.S. government about their intended actions on this case now that extradition 

has failed. 

I am available to respond to any questions you may have, and 

thank you. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you so much, Mr. Winer. Let me just ask you, 

if I could, first, of your 10 points, what points, if any, have been 

pursued by the Justice Department or by State? 

Mr. WINER. Based on the public record, it does not appear any 

steps other than the extradition—Mr. Gallagher may have more information than I do—and that’s one reason why further inquiry 

from the Commission may be of value. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Gallagher, are you aware of any other efforts 

made besides extradition? 

Mr. GALLAGHER. No, I am not. As of my retirement, I’m no longer 

in the loop. 

Mr. SMITH. OK. Again, we had asked that the administration be 

here. Due to a scheduling conflict they’re not, but we will ask that 

question and many others in open hearing, as well as by way of 

letter. 

Yes. 

Mr. WINER. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Schwartz at the Justice Department is a person I’ve worked with in the past for whom I have the 

highest possible regard for his integrity, competence, diligence, creativity, imagination, knowledge. And I think that working with 

him on this matter would be as fruitful as it could possibly be, in 

light of his institutional responsibilities. 

Mr. SMITH. Knowing what you know, having worked as a DAS— 

deputy assistant secretary—for law—international law enforcement, is the decision made at his level, or would it be made at a 

higher level? 

Mr. WINER. I think the answer to that question is yes and yes, 

which is to say Mr. Schwartz exercises a lot of influence—and he 

should: He’s a person of great judgment and experience. In this 

matter and all of these kinds of matters, the State Department has 

its equities; it wants to maintain a good relationship with Portugal, 

which, as I said, this is a judicial decision, not an executive branch 

decision; it’s going to want to think about precedent. The Justice 

Department has had a lot of experience with such problems as extraordinary rendition over the past decade, and so there will be 

more than one component of a U.S. government that would likely 

be involved in this kind of process. 

Mr. SMITH. We have heard that before. We’ve heard it recently 

in the case of a child who was abducted to Brazil, and the equities 

were such that very little was being done to bring David Goldman’s 

son, Sean, back. It was on a list of talking points but hardly a priority. We hear it often. 

It seems to me that from the Portuguese point of view, there 

should at least be some consideration being given as to what this 

does to the other side of that equation, and that is what Americans—what the American government, what the Congress and 

hopefully what the executive branch—thinks of what appears to be 

a rogue court. As you said, I think, Mr. Gallagher, so well, questions could be asked and—but the final adjudication needs to be 
15 

done here, where the crime and the conviction and the sentencing 

and the incarceration were all done in a very lawful manner and 

no one questions whether or not the rule of law was followed in 

this case. 

And yet some rogue—seemingly rogue—judge is able to do this, 

and there will be repercussions, respectfully, I would say, from this 

side, vis-a`-vis Portugal. 

Mr. WINER. Mr. Chairman, from my perspective, when Congress 

takes an interest in an issue like this, it can motivate elements of 

our government to do more. And the instincts of the government 

ordinarily in the executive branch is to deal with the crisis of the 

day and the underlying goals of maintaining relationships and 

working problems. Making this a priority is an important part of 

the congressional mission and does have an impact—a positive impact—on executive branch functionality in terms of protecting 

Americans. And it can make a very big difference in strengthening 

the ability of the executive branch to protect Americans, as is the 

case here. 

Mr. SMITH. And that is part of what the hope is here, that this 

begins an introspection as to whether or not we’re doing all our due 

diligence to protect Americans everywhere. 

I just came back from Bolivia just a few weeks ago on a case of 

a man named Jacob Osstreicher, who has been charged with nothing, languishes in Palmasola Prison with no charges brought 

against him. The welfare and whereabouts aspect of what State 

has done, by the consular affairs people, is tremendous, but it has 

not been raised to the level of government to government, in a 

way—has not gone to the undersecretary, has not gone to the secretary or any higher. I asked that question specifically. So we’re 

making, hopefully, a big deal about that, not just for Jacob—although that should be enough—but for any other American who is 

improperly and unethically incarcerated and is made to suffer. 

And that, Ms. Patterson, is in part what we’re trying to do here. 

One—and I think this is something that is often missed by some 

in government —and that is the ongoing trauma that you and your 

family has experienced. This is not over. And there are three impact statements that some of the younger relatives, the daughters, 

would submit—are going to submit for the record. As you said, five 

generations of traumatizing, and for this man to remain at liberty, 

thumbing his nose at the world, especially at your family and at 

the United States, having been incarcerated. 

And all the good work that was done by the FBI—Mr. Gallagher, 

thank you for that tremendous work taking this up in 1994. And 

I’m wondering, having worked with the Portuguese, is this a pattern? Have you detected anything that would even suggest that 

this is the way the Portuguese government acts, or is this an aberration? 

Mr. GALLAGHER. This was my lone attempt at extradition with 

Portugal. But I can say that when we met with them in Department of Justice, they were—the law enforcement, they were the 

ones that, at our behest, made the positive identification and were 

bending over backwards to help us, as were the Portuguese prosecutors. And I would defer that it—to me, it looks like a sole judge 

in the judiciary over there that is—that has just made a bad call. 
16 

Mr. SMITH. Now, is there a higher level of court that can overrule 

him? Is that in the process? And did the United States meet its 

timeline to appeal and to try to bring this to the next level? 

Mr. WINER. Mr. Chairman, I don’t understand the final moments 

of this case, in which we—the United States Government—apparently did not do a final appeal. 

I know that the Office of the Legal Counsel at the Department 

of State and/or the Office of International Affairs in the Department of Justice would most likely have been involved in making a 

determination on that. Both of these offices, in my experience, regardless of administration, Republican, Democrat, over decades, 

are diligent and honorable and pay attention, first and foremost, to 

the legal equities of Americans—American citizens and the U.S. 

government. 

And while other parts of the government may have other equities, I want to maintain a great relationship with the country of A, 

B or C, these offices are very focused on those points. So it’s a factual thing to clear up with them. 

I can tell you point blank Portugal and the United States have 

maintained over many decades close working law enforcement as 

well as military security relations that have advanced U.S. security 

and law enforcement goals over a long time. These are not just valued allies in a cliche ́d sense; they’re valued allies in a day-to-day 

operational sense. And I do not blame the country for what this 

judge did, just as any number of American judges have made decisions with which I vehemently disagree and do not control. 

Mr. SMITH. You know, this hearing is not the beginning. When 

Ms. Patterson came and asked me to look into this, I got on the 

phone immediately and began the process, and then knew in a 

timely fashion that an appeal had to be filed. And so, you know, 

they certainly were on notice that something should have been 

done sooner rather than let a deadline pass, which is again why 

we had hoped the Justice Department would be here to give us a— 

maybe we’re missing something. I’d love to know. 

Mr. WINER. Congress should have an explanation from the executive branch on this. 

Mr. SMITH. Appreciate that, thank you. 

Mr. GALLAGHER. Mr. Chairman, I’ll give you my sense of it, and 

that is as—I’ve been informed that the appeal could—the department—or the Department of Justice hired private attorneys in Portugal. And the Portuguese prosecutors, for whatever reason—and 

the reason I don’t know—chose not to go ahead with the appeal on 

their side. The court ruled that the private attorneys hired by Department of Justice could not go forward on their own without a 

file of appeal by the prosecutors, and that—that’s what I know. I 

can’t explain it, but— 

Mr. SMITH. OK. 

Mr. Winer. 

Mr. WINER. Attorneys regularly, in this world, don’t think of all 

contingencies, or in the—to be more blunt, screw up. And if Mr. 

Gallagher’s account is correct, it may be that inadequate consideration was given by the Justice Department to this possibility. 

These things can happen, and in this case, the result is a travesty. 

This is unjust, this is a travesty, this is wrong, this should be 
17 

turned around and the United States Government should be taking 

whatever steps are appropriate to get this turned around. 

Mr. SMITH. Your point number eight—and I thank you for that 

emphatic statement—you mention that senior U.S. officials can be 

directed to raise this issue with Portuguese counterparts, inviting 

positive steps by Portugal such as denaturalization and deportation 

to secure justice. Has that been done? 

Mr. WINER. I have no information as to whether it’s been done 

in this case. It may well be that because the extradition process 

was going forward, this option was not previously considered. It 

should be. If he, as every fact seems to indicate, committed any 

form of fraud in Portugal that allowed him to become a citizen, certainly under core principles of immigration law, you can seek a 

denaturalization as a prelude to deportation. And this is done, it 

can be done and it has been done in other cases, and it certainly 

should be actively explored in this case. If that doesn’t work, you’ve 

got lures, you’ve got extraordinary renditions, you’ve got bounty 

hunters and rewards. Those are all options. 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Gallagher, you—and it must have been agonizing 

to recommend that the air piracy charges be dropped so that this 

conviction and—it would—the way would be paved to bring this 

man back to serve for having murdered Mr. Patterson. Could you 

just elaborate a little bit on how hard that had to have been? I 

mean, air piracy is an extraordinary, an egregious crime, and yet 

you saw this, you know, garnering justice in this case to trump 

that. You triaged it. 

Mr. GALLAGHER. I can answer that in that it didn’t seem like we 

were getting anywhere with respect to submitting an extradition 

request, and that it was going to be denied. There’s practical law 

enforcement reasons in that he’s been positively identified for close 

to a year and a half, and sitting on a fugitive for a year and a half 

is interminable. Just the chance that he finds out that somebody’s 

looking at him or for him, he could certainly pick up that information by a chance visit to his local police station, where they’ve been 

notified, hey, the guy down the road is really a U.S. fugitive, or a 

chance traffic violation. So sitting a year and a half is a very long 

time to do. So we sought resolution. I don’t know that the air piracy thing is dead, but at the time, it was severed. 

Mr. SMITH. You—Mr. Winer pointed out that the INTERPOL information was, to this—as of yesterday, I think you said—was out 

of date. That’s unconscionable. This man is a flight risk this instant. Why couldn’t that be corrected easily? 

Mr. WINER. I was stunned to find it listed as George Wright, 

without a pseudonym, to list the old information without updates, 

and I do not understand it. 

Mr. SMITH. How hard, Mr. Gallagher, is that to update? 

Mr. GALLAGHER. I know it can be updated. I hadn’t queried it recently, so— 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Winer? 

Mr. WINER. It can be updated in an hour. It can be updated in 

two hours. It should not take more than 24 hours from this hearing 

to be updated. 

Mr. SMITH. Now, is it possible that Mr. Wright, if he thought 

that the Portuguese government might do something to expedite 
18 

the extradition, that he could, as we’re talking, be a flight risk or 

leave Portugal to go to a nonextradition country? 

Mr. WINER. There are any number of things that he could do. He 

could go back to Algeria, I suppose, where apparently he started 

out his adventure. He could go to—where was he was in Africa, Mr. 

Gallagher? 

Mr. GALLAGHER. Guinea-Bissau. 

Mr. WINER. Guinea-Bissau and hang out in Guinea-Bissau, if he 

wants to do that. The United States could then pursue him 

throughout the world. Why not? 

Mr. SMITH. Mr. Cohen. 

Mr. COHEN. Thank you. First of all, Ms. Patterson, I think I 

errantly referred to you as the widow and you’re obviously the 

daughter, but, you know, it’s just it’s been such time and I didn’t— 

wasn’t familiar with it. But I appreciate your testimony. I’m sorry. 

Your father was a hero, and whether he was or wasn’t, his murderer should be apprehended, but particularly in light of what he 

did in service to his country. Has our State Department or anybody 

at the United States Government contacted you? Have you had 

contact with anybody in this matter recently? 

Ms. PATTERSON. I had—besides Congressman Smith, I had contacted Senator Lautenberg’s office, and they had put in a couple of 

requests for me, and I— and they did request from the State—the 

Department of Justice. And I have—I do have copies of those letters that I will submit to the record, too. So I did hear from the 

State Department. I have written a letter to Secretary of State 

Clinton, and I did get a letter back from there about six months 

later. So I do have those two. 

Mr. COHEN. And what was the response? 

Ms. PATTERSON. From the State Department, they were aware of 

it and they wanted justice also. And they were going to be working 

on it. And from the Department of Justice, they said that they had 

been advised by their lawyer not to go for the last appeal because 

it wouldn’t matter; they would still be denied. So they would be 

looking at other avenues also. 

Mr. COHEN. Mr. Winer—and I presume you’d be the right person 

to ask this couple of questions. First, are there other fugitives that 

Portugal has refused to extradite to our country that you’re familiar with? 

Mr. WINER. No, the only case that I’m familiar with is the case 

that’s decades old which the U.S. refused to extradite someone to 

Portugal, which went all the way up to the Supreme Court, having 

to do with nationality exclusions and became a big precedent in extradition law. But this is not a pattern, to the best of my knowledge. 

Mr. COHEN. And you don’t think that the judge there would have 

had that in the back of his mind? 

Mr. WINER. No. 

Mr. COHEN. It’s not—it’s not a case that’s a burning issue with 

people. Do you know anything about this judge and his or her history and background and— 

Mr. WINER. I do not, sir. 

Mr. COHEN. No? And the judge is strictly—what type of judge is 

it? Do you know? 
19 

Mr. WINER. I do not, no. 

Mr. COHEN. The Portuguese judiciary, is it known to be above 

board? 

Mr. WINER. It’s considered to be independent. And like most 

Western European judiciaries, it’s pretty good—imperfect, but pretty good. And again, in the United States, there are any number of 

decisions that judges make that I’ve disagreed with over the years. 

It’s difficult to enforce rule of law in a fair and honorable way in 

all cases. Travesties occur. This is a travesty and an outrage. 

Mr. COHEN. Has anybody from the Portuguese government—I 

know it’s a separate branch and all that—expressed in any way 

their concern about the decision of the judge or any action that 

they might think was appropriate, or have they been pretty moot 

on it? 

Mr. WINER. That’s a question that you would have to ask United 

States government or Mrs. Patterson about. 

Mr. COHEN. Do either Mrs. Patterson or Mr. Gallagher know of 

any statement that the government might have made, any concern 

or issue— 

Mr. GALLAGHER. No, I’m not aware. 

Mr. COHEN. None at all. Rendition’s an interesting concept. You 

brought it up, Mr. Winer. Who is the—which branch of our government does this? Is it the— 

Mr. WINER. Renditions have been done in recent years by intelligence agencies with involvement under some certain circumstances of the military or other security elements of the United 

States Government. The law enforcement agencies take the point 

of view that they do not ask how someone came under U.S. jurisdiction. That’s not important. Their role is to deal with people once 

they’re under U.S. jurisdiction. 

Mr. COHEN. It’s a results test. 

Mr. WINER. Correct. Other components of the United States government are involved in the rendition process or private citizens in 

connection with rewards programs. 

Mr. COHEN. It’s rare that this is used, to the best of your knowledge? 

Mr. WINER. It was rare when I was in the government. My understanding is it was less rare in the Bush administration during 

the period post-9/11. And it appears the current administration has 

moved more towards the use of other mechanisms rather than renditions to deal with terrorists. The drone program would be one example of that. 

Mr. COHEN. Rendition to the— 

Mr. WINER. Rendition to another place. 

Mr. COHEN. Yes, yes. Indeed. Is Wright hiding out, or is he pretty open and notorious in Portugal now? Do we know? Mr. Gallagher, do you have any idea? 

Mr. GALLAGHER. By all media, he’s living in the same residence 

and open. 

Mr. COHEN. So somebody could go over there and bring him to 

justice or whatever. And do you know how long he’s been married, 

how long he’s had citizenship? 

Mr. GALLAGHER. No, I do not. 
20 

Mr. COHEN. Yeah. This is—it’s an amazing story. I appreciate 

Mr. Smith bringing this to the Commission. It is a terrorist act. I 

think I remember this. It’s hard—it’s ’72—I’m that old. And during 

that time, there were quite a few hijackings, and we were all concerned about flying and would you end up in Cuba. You know, a 

lot of them went to Cuba, but I remember this Algeria thing and 

going to Miami and Boston and the whole scene, so I guess I remember this case. And it did make people leery of flying, and it’s 

certainly a terrorist act and something that shouldn’t just be forgotten about. 

I mean, we should find justice. 

I’ve been in the—I’m proud to be a member of the Judiciary 

Committee, as well as this Commission. But in the Judiciary Committee under Chairman John Conyers we did a lot of successful legislation to see that perpetrators of civil rights crimes were brought 

to justice, even though the—many years had transpired since the 

crime had been committed. And I think in those—all those circumstances, the perpetrators should be brought to justice, for the 

crime they did was against society. And in this situation, it’s the 

same. And I don’t think—I don’t find the judge’s decision that 

there’s any kind of a lapse, a breach—because a time should work, 

latches shouldn’t be applied, statute of limitations or anything like 

that. And we should take a position that we get involved. 

So I’d like to plan to join with Mr. Smith. I did not have the opportunity to do it in the past. But if he does another entreaty to 

the State Department—and I feel confident that he will—I would 

like to join with him in that, and whatever efforts we do so, it is 

bipartisan. And I believe that we should continue action to see that 

this gentleman is brought to justice, because what he’s done was 

wrong to your family, it was wrong to the United States of America 

and is wrong to the justice system. So I appreciate the hearing, the 

testimony, and I regret what you and I presume these—are these 

granddaughters here? 

Ms. PATTERSON. (Off mic.) 

Mr. COHEN. Well, I’m sorry about—you had a great grandfather, 

and your mother’s doing a great job to remember that legacy. We 

should never forget the legacy. We should always remember and 

try to find justice. You know, in the Jewish religion, the Holocaust, 

never forget, and you don’t forget your family. 

Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH. Well, thank you. And we will work together on requesting additional actions by the State Department and Justice 

Department. Let me ask—we have three impact statements, and I 

know—and without naming each person, because I know that 

that’s a concern—I would like if any of the granddaughters—or 

daughters, I should say, would like to—and granddaughter—say a 

word or two or a paragraph from their impact statement. The entire statement will be put in the record. 

And while you’re thinking about the—for a moment, Mr. Winer, 

you made a very excellent point about Congress’ strength and the 

executive branch’s ability to analyze and apply these tools in cases 

of failed extraditions, and you proposed that we get a report—and 

we will follow up with some legislation pursuant to your excellent 

recommendation that would cover total extraditions by countries, 
21 

number of extraditions refused, reason for refusal of extraditions 

and steps taken by the U.S. in response. And that’s the one that 

we would really look forward to—in response to a refused extradition. 

We don’t have the data. We don’t get the information. There’s a 

lack of compiling it, and I think your recommendation is a good 

one. Thank you for that. 

Would anyone like to say a word, please? No need to say your 

name. 

GRANDDAUGHTER OF WALTER PATTERSON 

GRANDDAUGHTER. Should I read the whole thing or—OK. I am 

not sure I will ever know the full impact of never meeting my 

grandfather Walter Patterson, but I can speculate how things could 

have been. I imagine that he would have spent time with his 

grandchildren as we grew up, visiting us, playing with us, spending 

holidays with us or going to our weddings, meeting his great-grandchildren. I am sure he would have told us his war stories and life 

adventures, but we will never know his story as told by Walter Patterson. 

If my grandfather hadn’t been murdered, I think my grandmother would have lived longer to enjoy the abovementioned activities with her grandchildren. George Wright took both of them away 

from us. 

Even though George Wright denies firing shots, it was not a bullet that killed my grandfather. He died from severe head trauma, 

trauma inflicted on my grandfather by George Wright. Beating a 

man who was a decorated World War II veteran while he was down 

is a cowardly act. 

It’s time for George Wright to grow up and be a man and face 

punishment for the violent, disgusting crime he committed. Wright 

chose his actions. Now he needs to pay the price for them. 

One of the biggest impacts of living without my grandfather was 

financial hardship. He was a gas station owner who probably would 

have had financial security to pass along to my mother. Instead, 

she had her father and all that he had to offer taken away. My 

mother had to start with nothing, therefore times were extremely 

difficult for us as we grew up. I started babysitting and taking care 

of neighbors’ pets when I was in 5th grade to earn some money. 

I used that money to buy a car. As soon as I was old enough to 

drive, I went to work after school each day and on weekends to pay 

for car insurance, gas and clothes. If I needed something, I knew 

I had to pay for it. 

After high school, I had to work two jobs while going to college 

full-time. I had to pay my own tuition. I had to pay for my own 

wedding. My parents simply didn’t have the means to help their 

children with these things. If my grandfather had been alive, he 

could have watched us when we were little so my mom could have 

gone to work to help out financially. 

My parents did the best they could just to put food on the table 

for us. My dad hunted, so we ate a lot of venison. There were no 

extras or luxury items. We wore hand-me-downs and were taught 

to be happy with what we had. My parents wouldn’t have needed 
22 

to struggle if my grandfather had been there to help. My grandfather wasn’t here to help due to George Wright’s senseless crime. 

Whatever happened in the hospital when my mom went to see 

her father as he was dying caused her to not be able to go to hospitals anymore. She has 11 grandchildren—12 now—that she was 

unable to see when they were born, not until they came home. My 

daughter was in a special care nursery for 10 days when she was 

born. Luckily, she was OK, but my mom may have never seen her 

granddaughter alive. I split my head open as a child and had to 

wait for a ride to the hospital to get stitches because my mom 

couldn’t take me to the hospital and my dad was at work. He 

worked as many hours as he could just to make ends meet. 

It is difficult to speculate how things would have been if my 

grandfather hadn’t been murdered, but his presence could have 

only made life easier and better for all of us. George Wright turned 

my mother’s life upside down, and five generations of the Patterson 

family have been negatively affected. Wright has lived a full life, 

while my grandfather’s life was senselessly taken away. 

Wright should be thankful for the time he has had with his family. At least he has the opportunity to say goodbye to his wife and 

kids as he leaves to serves his sentence. My grandfather wasn’t 

given that courtesy. George Wright’s fate is a result of his own 

choices and actions. 

My grandfather was an innocent man trying to make an honest 

living. He fought for our country and for our freedom. In return, 

he was beaten to death by George Wright. Please provide justice 

for my grandfather Walter Patterson, and extradite George Wright 

to the United States to finish serving his sentence for the brutal 

beating and murder of my grandfather. Thank you for your time 

and consideration. 

GRANDDAUGHTER OF WALTER PATTERSON 

GRANDDAUGHTER. Thank you. ‘‘Get away with murder.’’ To some 

it’s just an expression, but to others a reality. Forty-nine years ago, 

a little girl of 14 years old received a horrifying phone call. On the 

other end was a distraught family member calling to notify a 

woman that her husband had been brutally attacked and shot. The 

14-year-old was the recipient of this message and was told nothing 

except: Walt’s been shot. 

Walter was her father, who two days later had vanished from her 

life forever. It sounds like a movie or storyline for a perfect mystery 

book series. To my family and myself, it’s the harsh reality of the 

world we live in. 

My mother is that 14-year-old girl, and Walter Patterson is the 

grandfather I never met. From what I understand and conclude 

from stories told, he was a hardworking family man. He had risked 

his life in the U.S. Army fighting for the freedom of the people and 

the country in which we reside. 

Going to battle and sustaining injuries during combat isn’t what 

took him from his family. It was the appalling choice of some of the 

very Americans he was fighting for. It was a moment that would 

change the lives of many people. 

On the night of November 23, 1962, Walter Patterson was working at a gas station he ran. It was an innocent night’s work, and 
23 

he was making a living to provide for his family who consisted of 

a wife and two young daughters. When a car of four individuals 

pulled around the back of the shop, an average workday would 

soon take a turn for the worst. Little did my grandfather known 

he’d soon be faced with individuals garbed with stockings on their 

heads and equipped with guns in their hands. What began as a 

robbery ended in murder. The individuals who set out with the intentions of killing had succeeded. Luckily, our justice system had 

been victorious in apprehending these individuals and convicting 

them for the crime they committed. 

Walter Patterson can’t be brought back to watch his two daughters blow out their birthday candles, hang Christmas lights with 

his family or carve the Thanksgiving turkey. He would never be 

able to participate in daddy-daughter dances, walk his daughters 

down the aisle on their wedding day or enjoy the births of their 

children. But at least the creatures responsible for this would pay 

for what they’ve done—or would they? 

Seven years of a prison sentence was apparently all that one of 

these cowards, a man by the name of George Wright, could handle. 

As if choosing to participate in a murder wasn’t enough of a poor 

choice, his life of crime wouldn’t stop there. Mr. Wright had the 

brilliant idea to steal the prison warden’s car to make his great escape. Being a criminal obviously came easy to this individual, because his law-breaking actions didn’t stop there. What does a convicted murderer do after he breaks out of prison? 

Well, this particular criminal chose to expand his criminal record 

by hijacking a passenger plane, putting yet more lives at risk and 

making a mockery of the FBI. He managed to collect $1 million in 

ransom money, which he demanded be delivered by FBI agents in 

their underwear or swimsuits. One would think that if this murderer were to be caught, he’d really be in serious trouble with all 

these actions he carried out. 

For many years George Wright lived his life. He even got married and had a family of his own. Were the images of a beaten and 

shot man ever present in his mind? Did he ever think about the 

lives of those family members that were torn apart on that day 

that he chose to act like a man of no feelings or regard for human 

life? When he was counting his illegally obtained million dollars, 

was he picturing two young girls standing over a coffin painfully 

watching their young, brave father be buried? Was he thinking of 

the young single mother who was left to deal with her newly broken family? I doubt it. 

And George Wright was actually running like a coward while 

conspiring about how he would be able to live the good life himself. 

No conscience, remorse or regret has ever been evident by this individual’s actions. He must have felt he had something to hide, proven by the fact that he illegally and unofficially changed his name 

and remained in a country half a world away from where he destroyed Walter Patterson and his family. 

Forty-one years have passed by. After diligent searching and a 

refusal to put this case file back in the file cabinet, the FBI was 

hopeful that they had found this murderer and fugitive. That 14- 

year-old girl who received that devastating phone call is now 63 

years old and has received yet another phone call regarding the 
24 

murder of her father. Only this time, the phone call was of a positive nature. The news of this armed robber, murderer, prison escapee, plane hijacker and fraud being caught seemed surreal. After 

all these years, this man will finally pay the price for the crimes 

he chose to commit. 

The life of Walter Patterson can’t be brought back. Knowing that 

justice will be served and that George Wright literally won’t get 

away with murder will help to close the door on this devastating 

chapter of Walter Patterson’s family’s lives. Protecting and hiding 

a known convicted criminal is considered a crime in itself. Portugal, the place in which George Wright chose to flee to and hide 

out at, like the coward he is, chose to protect him by refusing extradition. 

How can an average individual be punished for hiding out a 

criminal, yet here you have the government of a country harboring 

this fugitive and getting away with it? 

When this news hit our family, many emotions were felt. The 

feelings of anger, sadness and frustration are overwhelming. A convicted killer and fugitive has been caught but is being protected 

from the law. 

The rationale is now that he is a Portuguese citizen and therefore they feel the need to protect him. Never mind the fact that 

Walter Patterson had no protection from this individual’s hands, 

but in hindsight, is George Wright even a legitimate Portuguese 

citizen? He used criminal acts to access the country and used a 

fraudulent family background and name to obtain his so-called citizenship. George Wright has not become a Portuguese citizen, but 

rather the pseudo-individual he created has. 

One would think the government would want to rid their country 

of crime and corruption, but Portugal is protecting an individual 

who has brought these things to them. Portugal isn’t the only country to blame for this monster having the ability to move on with 

his life as if his hands were not a murder weapon at one time, as 

if his own mind didn’t tell him to commit the various crimes of a 

hateful, malicious monster. 

The very country that Walter Patterson received numerous medals for protecting, it’s contributing to George Wright literally getting away with murder. The country in which immigrants travel 

far and wide to reach to obtain a better life for themselves, our 

very own United States of America, has given up on one of its own. 

The decision has been made that a human life that was taken illegally by the hands of another isn’t worth pursuing justice for. 

Members of our attorney general’s office have decided that no 

more appeals are necessary in the attempt to extradite this convicted murderer so justice can be served. It would be very interesting to see if the same decision would be made if the individual 

who was prematurely buried carried one of their last names. 

This war veteran fought for the freedom of citizens of the United 

States. The government was unable to protect him from George 

Wright while he was still alive. The least that the United States 

could do is return the fight that he gave and express the need to 

have this man brought back to where this crime was committed. 

In public schools across the nation, hundreds of students and 

staff proudly recite the Pledge of Allegiance. It would be reassuring 
25 

to know that these aren’t just words but actually have true meaning, and that our country stands by the last line of this pledge. If 

nothing else, this country should have the ambition to send a message that the United States is just that: united. 

Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. Remarkable words and convictions, heart, 

courage from three remarkable women. Mr. Patterson would be so 

proud. We will continue our efforts diligently. The hearing’s adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 3:20 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

(27) 

A P P E N D I X 
28 

PREPARED STATEMENTS

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON

SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE

Good afternoon and welcome to everyone here for our hearing on ‘‘Justice in the 

international extradition system: the case of George Wright and beyond.’’ 

In September 2011, hopes were raised high when the FBI announced that George 

Wright, a fugitive for over 41 years, had been located in Portugal and taken into 

custody pursuant to provisional arrest request from the United States. These were 

hopes for accountability, justice, and, for the family of the man he murdered in Wall 

Township in 1962, for closure. 

In 1963, George Wright was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison in connection 

with a gas station robbery during which Walter Patterson, a decorated World War 

II veteran and Bronze Star recipient, was shot to death. He was subsequently sentenced to 15 to 30 years but escaped from prison in 1970. In 1972, he and four other 

men hijacked a Detroit-to-Miami flight—they flew the plane to Algeria, where Algerian authorities allowed them to disappear. 

In 1976, four of the hijackers were located and arrested in France. They argued 

that they would not be able to get a fair trial in the United States because of racism 

in the American legal system. France invoked the ‘‘political offense exception’’ and 

refused to extradite them to the United States, but tried them in France instead. 

Following conviction, two of the hijackers spent a mere three years in prison and 

two others spent 2 1/2 years. George Wright was not one of those caught. For 41 

years, George Wright’s whereabouts were unknown, and he built a life for himself 

that included a wife and children—a life that he denied to Walter Patterson. 

When George Wright was located in Portugal last year, the Patterson family naturally thought that, as a prison escapee sought also for hijacking, he would be returned to the United States to finish serving the sentence he received for the murder of Walter Patterson. But shockingly, a Portuguese court rejected the United 

States’ extradition request last November and efforts to reverse that decision were 

exhausted without success earlier this year. The Patterson family, so deeply wounded by the murder of Walter Patterson and then shocked by the escape of a person 

sentenced in that crime was injured yet again by Portugal’s refusal to extradite 

George Wright. 

Today’s hearing will examine what happened in this case, what can be done about 

it, and the broader questions it raises about the international extradition system. 

I welcome here Ann Patterson, Walter Patterson’s daughter, who will put human 

face on what some might otherwise appear to be abstract legal issues and remind 

us what is really at stake when the extradition process fails. We will also hear from 

R.J. Gallagher, a retired FBI Special Agent who worked on the George Wright case. 

And finally, we will hear from Jonathan Winer, Senior Director, APCO Worldwide, 

Washington, DC, and former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Law Enforcement. 

Many thanks to all of you for being here today—above all to the Patterson family. 

This can only be painful for them, but we honor their willingness to speak out about 

how this injustice has affected their family—they represent not only themselves but 

the families of countless other crime victims, left in the lurch and prevented from 

achieving closure on the death of a loved one by injustices in the extradition system. 

I would just share with you two more things before we begin. 

• We invited the Department of Justice to participate in this hearing, but were 

unfortunately unable to coordinate the scheduling of this event with their availability. I look forward to covering this issue with them at a future hearing. 

• We also invited the Portuguese ambassador to participate, but he had a scheduling conflict as well, and I will be meeting with him personally in my office. 
29 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, CO-CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION

ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE

I thank the Chairman for convening this hearing about an important aspect of 

international law which impacts citizens of the United States and those of countries 

around the world, as well as our government’s relationships with other nations. This 

review of extradition will be conducted through the prism of the heart wrenching 

experience of the Patterson family. 

The murder of Walter Patterson in 1962 devastated his wife and two young teenage daughters, one of whom, Ann, will testify here today. The late Mrs. Patterson 

died two years after her husband, leaving Ann and her sister orphans. George 

Wright, who participated in the robbery that resulted in Walter Patterson’s death, 

was apprehended, convicted of felony murder and sentenced to 15 to 30 years in 

prison, thereby providing, I would hope, some modicum of relief for the family. Certainly closure is another matter and the numbing grief of loss is never ending. 

I cannot begin to imagine the shock and apprehension endured by the family 

when Wright escaped from prison seven years later and was then reported to have 

participated in the hijacking of a Miami-bound plane to Algeria—only to vanish 

from sight for the next 41 years. The FBI’s announcement last year that he had 

been discovered in Portugal and the rigors of the extradition proceedings have, I am 

sure, regenerated the cycle of grief once more for the family. 

The Helsinki Final Act contains Ten Principles Guiding Relations between Participating States. Principle Ten requires that the 56 OSCE States ‘‘fulfill in good 

faith their obligations under international law, both those obligations arising from 

the generally recognized principles and rules of international law and those obligations arising from treaties or other agreements to which they are parties.’’ The 

United States has extradition treaties with the overwhelming majority of the 56 

OSCE participating States, including Portugal, as well as a multilateral treaty with 

European Union countries. Exceptions are the former Soviet Republics (Russia, 

Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and 

Uzbekistan—the United States never recognized the forcible incorporation of Latvia, 

Estonia and Lithuania into the Soviet Union and those three Baltic States are covered by the EU multilateral treaty.) The status of extradition agreements with the 

successor states of the former Yugoslavia is in the process of being regularized. 

Extradition treaties can help the United States ensure that those who have committed crimes here are brought to justice. But, as we have seen, the implementation 

of extradition agreements among nations raises challenges. Many treaties bar extradition based on exceptions carved out for citizenship, statutes of limitation, military 

offenses, political offenses or cases where the death penalty may be imposed. I hope 

that the testimony to be presented here today will shed some light on ways to address these challenges and ensure justice in the international extradition process. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 
30 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ANN PATTERSON

My name is Ann Patterson and I am the daughter of Walter Patterson. My father 

was robbed, brutally beaten, and shot in his gas station in Wall Township, New Jersey on November 23, 1962. He died of his Injuries on November 25, 1962. I was 

14 years old and my sister, Kaye, was 13. 

My father was a quiet, sensitive person. The gas station was his ‘‘American 

Dream’’ and he was so happy to be able to have his own business. He worked sixteen to eighteen hour days to support our family. 

Daddy’s name is also on the Patterson ‘‘Honor Roll’’ of soldiers—part of a family 

that has fought in all of our country’s wars. At age 21, he went to Europe and 

served our country for four years during World War II. He was a TEC 5 and a truck 

driver/mechanic and was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service. 

It was the day after Thanksgiving and Daddy had come home for supper. It was 

about 4:30 when he got into his truck to go back to work. I stood at the kitchen 

window waving good-bye and that was the last time I saw him alive. 

About five hours later, the phone rang and I answered it. Aunt Jennie said 

‘‘Walt’s been shot’’ and I screamed ‘‘No, no, no’’ and called my mother to the phone. 

I was crying, told my sister, and she started crying. 

My mother was not well. She called Uncle Charles to take her to the hospital. 

When she got there, she couldn’t recognize my father. She later told us they had 

‘‘beaten him to a pulp.’’ The doctor operated from about 10:30 P.M. to 6:30 A.M. and 

told my mother he thought he had ‘‘gotten all the bone fragments.’’ When I asked 

her what Daddy had to say, she told me that he couldn’t talk because his jaw was 

wired shut. He was wild with pain and could not be given anything for it because 

he had head injuries. He had to be restrained in the bed. The doctor told my mother 

that seizures were to be expected with this type of injury and Daddy had a seizure 

Saturday night. 

Kaye and I had been scared to death to stay home alone on Friday night, so we 

rode to the hospital with Uncle Dick and Aunt Ginny as they took my mother to 

see Daddy on Saturday night. Aunt Ginny asked my mother if she had told us what 

we were going to see. But my mother did not allow us to see Daddy and we waited 

in the car. Daddy was in critical condition and no one except immediate family was 

allowed in. The doctor told my mother that if Daddy came through this, he would 

be a vegetable and need a lot of care. 

On Sunday evening, the doctor was talking to my mother in the hallway about 

my father’s condition when the nurse came to them and told them he had passed 

away. They allowed my mother to spend some time alone with him. When she came 

home, Uncle Dick and Aunt Ginny were each holding her arms and helping her to 

the house. I looked at Kay and said ‘‘Daddy died.’’ 

The viewing was Tuesday and the funeral home asked for a photo of Daddy so 

they could make him look like the picture. Does that sound odd to you? My father 

was unrecognizable in the casket. His wavy black hair with a touch of gray was replaced with straight black hair combed back. His face was all uneven and caked 

with make-up. I knew he was my Daddy by looking at his hands. 

The $70 that George Wright and Walter McGhee stole wasn’t enough. They had 

to beat my father beyond recognition. George Wright was identified by the imprints 

of the stock of his gun on my father’s skin. If there had not been such a beating, 

the doctors could have operated on the bullet wound to the abdomen and it is quite 

possible that Daddy would still be with us today. 

For Kay and me, the nightmare was just beginning. Since our mother was not 

well, she could not take care of us. We were told that we would be sent to ‘‘Clinton, 

a home for wayward girls.’’ Later, I found out that Clinton was,in fact, a prison for 

girls. There is something wrong with sending the victims to prison while the criminals do not have to be incarcerated for their actions. I thank God that Uncle Dick 

stepped in to take care of us. 

Our mother was very ill with a heart condition and her death was hastened by 

losing Daddy. She passed away fifteen months later on February 26, 1964 leaving 

Kaye and me orphaned. In our house lived my mother’s aunt and uncle, both of 

whom passed away during that fifteen month period. In just over a year, we experienced the deaths of all four people we lived with and lost our home. We were robbed 

of normal teenage years. 

There was no counseling available in 1962. We were left to deal with all this sorrow on our own. We tried to be strong for our mother while she was still alive. 

It has not been easy to relive all these events during the past ten months. The 

FBI Victims Specialist suggested I see a counselor which was beneficial to me. One 

of the problems that came out was the nightmares that I suffered from for years 

after my father’s death. The counselor said that I had had post traumatic stress 
31 

after I described the nightmares to her. I also developed asthma and colitis within 

a few weeks of Daddy’s death. 

The premeditated actions of the four individuals involved in my father’s murder 

have negatively impacted five generations of the Patterson family. I have already 

spoken about my parents and my sister and me. My mother’s uncle who lived with 

us refused food when he learned of this tragedy. He said ‘‘I don’t want to stay in 

a world where this is allowed to happen’’ and he died four months later. My grandfather never spoke my father’s name without crying and told me ‘‘they didn’t have 

to beat him up so bad.’’ 

My father’s seven grandchildren were deprived of a loving grandfather and they 

are angry at the injustice exhibited in the past ten months. 

But the saddest to me are the hurt reactions of some of my father’s fourteen 

great-grandchildren. One ofthem saw the clip on TV of the capture and asked ‘‘What 

is wrong with people?’’ not knowing it was about her great-grandfather. Another one 

curled up in a corner of the couch and, crying, asked if he could escape again. Five 

generations of fear and hurt are five too many. 

George Wright cannot erase his life of crime. He is fraudulently a Portuguese citizen. Four aliases do not change the fact that he was born George Edward Wright 

in the United States of America and committed crimes during his years here. When 

he chose the crime, he also chose the punishment as they go hand in hand. 

George Wright did not give my father a choice on November 23, 1962 and so he 

should not have a choice about not serving his sentence. He does not owe Portugal 

time; he owes the United States. 

George Wright is not sorry for what he did. There has been no apology to the Patterson Family. On the contrary, he has made this all about himself and basked in 

the limelight. To want to profit from a book and movie highlighting his heinous acts 

against the Patterson family is a slap in the face. He is not the victim here—we 

are. 

George Wright is a convicted murderer who lived a life of violence, then fled and 

lived a life of lies. Now his past has caught up with him and he needs to come back 

here and serve his sentence. 

In light of all the recent media coverage, I have been approached by many people 

who have expressed their disgust toward this man and this situation. I feel it is a 

disgrace that our justice system has failed in assuring a proper punishment for this 

crime. This whole case sets a terrible precedent for this country both here and 

worldwide. It is a negative toward decent citizens and a positive for criminals. 

The failure of extradition has affected us in the following ways; 1) fear of a known 

criminal on the loose, 2) fear of reprisal from criminal. Both of these fears are now 

50 years long. 3) makes a mockery of the crime against my father. Did his life matter? 4) has perpetuated our pain and loss, 5) loss of any kind of confidence in the 

criminal justice system from the local branch which gave too lenient a sentence to 

the state branch that put a convicted murderer on a minimum security work farm 

to the federal branch who have backed down to Portugal in the matter of extradition. The case was dropped before the final appeal was filed. It is one thing to 

do all you can, another to give up before you exhaust all avenues. 

I have asked if there are any other avenues of justice such as withholding aid and 

have not been given any answer. Don’t we have a right to seek justice for our father? 

Our family has been emotionally affected by injustice in the following ways: 1) no 

closure, this is still an emotionally draining, open wound, 2) we have family members and friends across this entire nation who are.appalied at the injustice of trying 

to obtain justice, 3) we are not happy that George Wright wants to do a book and 

a movie and capitalize on his inhumane treatment of our father, 4) we were extremely upset when we read in the newspaper that the final appeal had been 

dropped. I was told that I would be notified of any decision so that I wouldn’t be 

blindsided up learning something from the media, 5) on a personal level, this has 

split my family in two. Some members support efforts to obtain justice and some 

cannot emotionally face the details of this crime to even talk about it. 

What can be done? Here are my suggestions: 1) reinstate the death penalty for 

criminals convicted of heinous crimes. Such a strong penalty may act as a deterrent, 

2) put pressure on Portugal. I understand there is a treaty from 1907 to this effect, 

3) do not send any financial aid to Portugal, 4) form a committee at the state level 

to double check paper work so that errors like this can’t happen, 5) support and 

pass Illinois Senator Richard Durbin’s Bringing Fugitives to Justice Act, and 6) 

nothing that any of us say or do will bring my father back but if we can look ahead 

and help the countless number of children who are similarly affected or will be affected by senseless crimes, then all of our efforts will not have been done in vain. 
32 

There is no conclusion to my story. It has not occurred yet for the Conclusion now 

rests in the hands of the politicians. The FBI and the U.S. Marshals have done their 

job in locating this fugitive and we thank them. I have done all I can by telling 

about our family events from November 23 to November 25, 1962 and the impact 

of this despicable crime. On behalf of the Patterson family, I ask you to please bring 

justice for the untimely death of my father, Walter Patterson. 

Thank you. 
33 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF R.J. GALLAGHER, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT

Good Afternoon. My name is R.J. Gallagher and I’m a retired FBI Agent and I 

would like to begin by acquainting members with the background of George Wright. 

On Friday night of Thanksgiving weekend in 1962, George Wright and two others 

robbed and mortally wounded Walter Patterson, a service station proprietor in Wall 

Township, New Jersey. That night Wright and his codefendants wore nylon stockings over their faces, and wore gloves on their hands. Wright carried a sawed off 

rifle, his codefendant a cheap handgun. They brought with them white adhesive 

tape for binding their victims. Earlier that same day, Wright and his codefendants 

cut the rifle down, bought ammunition and test fired the weapon. They had also 

driven around the Jersey shore area looking for prospective places to rob. 

At 9:30 P.M. when Wright and a codefendant entered Walt Patterson’s ESSO Gas 

Station on Route 33 they were committing their second armed robbery of the night. 

This robbery, unlike the first did not go as planned. For it would appear Walt Patterson was not sufficiently compliant or quick enough to meet the demands of the 

robbers and a fight ensued. Wright and his codefendant repeatedly rained blows to 

the head and shoulders of Walter Patterson with their weapons. At some point the 

handgun carried by the codefendant fired and Walter Patterson was struck in the 

abdomen. He fell to the floor. The two robbers fled taking with them about $70. 

Both robbers were very aware that their victim was shot and wounded yet they left 

him, alone, on the floor of his gas station. They did not place an anonymous call 

to anyone to get Walt Patterson medical attention. Instead, using the money proceeds from their two robberies that evening, they went out and partied. They dined, 

they drank and they played pool till 2 or 3 in the morning. 

Investigation over the next two days led to the identification and arrest of the persons involved in the robbery murder. This included George Wright. All physical evidence was recovered: guns, stocking masks, gloves, ammunition. All the arrested 

gave full confessions. 

On January 28, 1963, Wright pled ‘‘non vult’’ to a murder indictment. By this plea 

Wright did not contest his guilt and he waived his right to a trial. This plea allowed 

Wright to receive a 30 year maximum sentence as opposed to a life sentence, had 

he gone to trial and been convicted. On February 15, 1963, Wright was sentenced 

to a prison term of not less than 15 years and not more than 30 years. 

At this point I’d like to take a break from Wright’s crime chronology. I have read 

in numerous media accounts subsequent to Wright’s arrest that Wright has stated 

that since he did not fire the shot that killed Walter Patterson he is not guilty of 

the crime of murder. Both of Wright’s codefendants stated that in the immediate 

aftermath of this crime, Wright told them he had fired. Nine bullets from the sawed 

off rifle Wright carried were found on the floor of the service station 

The presiding judge at the time of Wright’s sentencing went on the record stating 

that these nine bullets indicated Wright’s intention and attempt to fire the weapon 

but that the weapon had malfunctioned. But regardless of Wright’s intent, attempt, 

or belief that he had fired or that he had not fired it was the law of the State of 

New Jersey that if a person committing a robbery kills another or death ensues during the robbery that person is guilty of murder. 

I have also read that there should be some consideration as to the age of George 

Wright as he was but 19 years old at the time. Here it should be noted that Walter 

Patterson was barely a much riper 21 when he entered the US Army shortly after 

Pearl Harbor. Walter Patterson then served in the Army for 3 years and 7 months 

until after the war was over. Of his time in the Army, 2 and a half years was spent 

overseas in Europe. 

Let me return to the Wright time line. On August 22, 1970, Wright and others 

escaped from the New Jersey State Prison. At this time Wright had served 7 years, 

7 months and 25 days. Wright has remained a fugitive from U.S. justice since this 

date. 

On July 31, 1972, Wright and 4 other adults (to include one of the persons who 

escaped prison with Wright) hijacked a Delta Airlines DC 8 en route from Detroit 

to Miami. The hijackers were accompanied by 3 of their small children. Wright was 

dressed in the garb of religious clergy. Wright was the eldest and the leader of the 

hijackers. He wielded a handgun, gave the orders and issued the threats. He pointed a cocked weapon to the head of the airplane pilot, Captain William May. In 

Miami, Wright demanded one million dollars and threatened that if his demands 

were not met that he would toss bodies out of the plane. 

Wright and his fellow hijackers received the one million dollar ransom and they 

released approximately 80 passengers. The flight crew, however, was not released 

and they were forced to fly the plane and the hijackers first to Boston then on to 

Algiers, Algeria. Algerian authorities seized the one million dollars and the plane, 
34 

returning them to the U.S. The hijackers however were allowed their freedom and 

eventually made their way to France. Wright and the other 4 adults were all indicted for Air Piracy in the United States on August 3, 1972. While in Algeria, 

Wright and the other hijackers made a videoed press statement and as part of the 

statement the speaker stated that they were revolutionaries. In May of 1976, 4 of 

the 5 hijackers, the lone exception being George Wright, were arrested by French 

authorities for the 1972 Air Piracy. In 1978, France tried these four for the Air Piracy and they were all convicted of the charge. 

And so to this day, Wright has not served his sentence for his homicide conviction 

nor has he been tried for the indicted charge of Air Piracy. 

My involvement in this matter began in 1994 when I reopened the New Jersey 

fugitive investigation regarding Wright. I worked it until my retirement in July, 

2011. The United States Marshals and the New Jersey Department of Corrections 

joined the investigation in approximately 2003. Since the case was reopened most 

all the techniques used in fugitive investigations were employed. These would include but not limited to interviews, both domestic and abroad, notification to international law enforcement, court orders, human intelligence, cooperation of foreign 

law enforcement, fingerprints and age enhanced images of George Wright were produced and disseminated worldwide. The United States Marshals commissioned the 

making of an age enhanced bust. All three agencies played a vital and significant 

part in the investigation and to my mind it was a model of organic, ad hoc interagency cooperation. 

In March of 2010, the Portuguese police notified the FBI legal attache ́ in Madrid 

that they had positively identified the person living in Portugal under the name of 

Jose Louis Jorge dos Santos as George Wright. This they did unknown to Wright 

by the comparison of fingerprints they had on file for Santos with those of George 

Wright. 

In September of 2010, six months after a positive identification I, along with attorneys from the Department of Justice-Office of International Affairs met with Portuguese law enforcement and prosecutors in Lisbon, Portugal. The purpose of this 

meeting was for the United States to seek Portuguese legal input and to work together within the framework of the US-Portugal extradition treaty so that the 

United States might produce an extradition request with the greatest chance of success. I would characterize the meetings as both positive and productive. All parties 

agreed that the extradition could proceed for U.S. person George Wright. Further 

there was agreement that George Wright was using the made up name of Jose 

Santos and had provided false pedigree information to the Portuguese government 

as regards to his name, place of birth and parents. One issue remained unresolved. 

Portugal saw as a barrier to extradition Wright’s exposure to a 25 year sentence 

of incarceration for an Air Piracy conviction. This they viewed as the equivalent of 

a death sentence and would therefore serve as a basis for denial of extradition. 

Well over a year passed since the positive identification had been made and this 

issue still proved intractable and no extradition request had been submitted to Portugal. In May of 2011, the decision was made to tender the extradition request to 

Portugal based solely on Wright’s homicide conviction. I participated in this decision 

and supported it fully. This course of action was probably done at my instigation. 

Should it prove to be a bad call the fault is entirely my own. 

Portuguese law enforcement arrested George Wright in September of 2011. 

Since his arrest, the Portuguese courts have denied the United States extradition 

request for George Wright. It is my understanding that the Court cited the following 

in their ruling: 

1.) Too much time had passed and that there must be a closure to criminal 

cases 

2.) Wright’s integration into Portuguese society demanded that extradition be 

denied on humanitarian grounds. (Per DOJ, these two reasons are not recognized as basis for denial of extradition per the United States Portugal Extradition Treaty.) 

3.) The court ruled that Wright is a Portuguese citizen. 

Looking forward I would like to note the following. 

Each nation is free to choose its own criteria for citizenship. This is how it is and 

always should be. But it would also seem that each nation would have as its own 

self interest imposing the obligation upon those seeking naturalized citizenship to 

provide a true identity and true information. This obviously provides for the safety 

and security of a nation’s citizens. George Wright provided false information to Portuguese authorities it would seem because he suspected that if he provided his true 

identity not only would citizenship not be conferred but that he would in all likelihood be arrested. 
35 

In August 1972, George Wright was indicted on the criminal charge of Air Piracy. 

If one looks at the elements of the crime Wright committed, this same act committed today might be potentially charged as an act of terrorism, and for such a 

charge the United States-Portugal Extradition Treaty provides for the extradition 

of one of it’s citizens. It is in my opinion hard to imagine that it would be charged 

otherwise. 

Specifically with respect to George Wright, I’ve seen media accounts post arrest 

that suggest he has for some time led a good life and that he is in fact rehabilitated. 

This is perhaps a valid argument and he might have a case for such but there remains only one place that can decide if such an argument is valid and that is here 

in the United States where he committed his crimes in front of a court or parole 

board of proper jurisdiction. I would encourage George Wright to come and make 

his argument. 
36 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JONATHAN M. WINER, SENIOR DIRECTOR, APCO 

WORLDWIDE, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE

Mr. Chairman and Honorable Members of the Committee: 

As former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Law Enforcement, I am honored to testify today to share my views regarding the international 

extradition system, and the options for the United States when the legal systems 

of other countries fail to meet the requirements of justice in connection with a legally proper extradition request from our country. 

During my tenure in the State Department, I had to deal with U.S. policies relating to extradition on many occasions, with regard always to one underlying goal— 

that the United States work always to secure justice regardless of the location of 

a criminal, and to do our best to prevent impunity for criminals anywhere, with a 

special focus on criminals whose victims were in the United States. 

I would like to begin my testimony with my assessment of the George Wright extradition case from a legal perspective. 

1. The Portuguese Decision To Refuse Extradition Was Legally Indefensible Under 

Our Bilateral Treaty and Under International Law 

In brief, the reported decision by the Portuguese judge to refuse Wright’s extradition to the U.S. is legally indefensible under the century-old U.S.-Portuguese Extradition Treaty, and under the principals of extradition law that apply internationally. Neither of the reported grounds for refusal—on statute of limitations ground 

and on the ground that he had later become a Portuguese citizen by marriage—are 

legally legitimate under such principles. Before escaping from prison and from the 

U.S. through a terrorist hijacking of an airplane, Wright had already been convicted 

of the murder of Walter Patterson in a trial that was full and fair. The statute of 

limitations does not run once one has been convicted of a crime—only when a country has failed to try a case while the facts are fresh. Similarly, a U.S. citizen such 

as Wright cannot legitimately be protected from extradition by claiming to be a citizen of another country. Some country’s do limit extradition of natural-born citizens 

to another country, although the U.S. discourages this principle and does not apply 

it itself. But applying this principle to someone who has lied about their past, lied 

about their name, and arrived in a country such as Portugal as a fugitive is a fraud 

on all involved. The judge’s decision on these two issues is legally wrong, morally 

unjust, and should be given no respect whatsoever by any government beyond that 

of Portugal. 

This analysis takes us to the core question you have asked me to consider—exploring the U.S. government’s options for response. I would like to consider each in 

turn. 

2. Get Portugal To Do the Right Thing 

Portugal could still take action to meet its obligations to the United States and 

to secure justice in this case. Wright entered Portugal through fraud. He had no 

right under the country’s immigration laws to enter the country under a false name, 

with a false nationality, as appears to have been the case. Based on the facts 

known, he engaged in immigration fraud to enter Portugal and to stay there. His 

marriage to a Portuguese woman was carried out fraudulently, under a false name, 

and with false information about his citizenship and birth. It appears that these 

facts were not known to Portuguese authorities until 2011. In such cases, under the 

principles of universally applicable immigration law, Portugal appears to have the 

right to revoke his citizenship, and to deport him. Were Portugal to take these 

steps, they could put him on a plane to the U.S. Or, even if Portugal simply dropped 

him on a train to somewhere else, the United States could secure his extradition 

from essentially any other country that received him, even ones with whom we do 

not have bilateral extradition relationships, under applicable multilateral agreements, such as the Palermo Transnational Organized Crime Convention. 

3. Use Interpol, Europol, and Other International Institutions Aggressively 

George Wright is currently listed by the United States on INTERPOL’s public 

wanted database as a fugitive. There is therefore a public ‘‘Red Notice’’ on him. 

However, the public notice notably is out of date and provides little information for 

others to use to arrest him. It does not state that he is living in Portugal, does not 

state his Portuguese name, Jose ́ Luı ́s Jorge dos Santos, does not list his current residence, the village of Casas Novas, just 25 miles from Portugal’s capital. It also does 

not list any identity information, such as a passport, that he may be using for travel 

in the European Union or elsewhere. Every biographical detail that the U.S. government has on Wright should be provided to INTERPOL, with those necessary to help 

police and others track him down made publically available. 
37 

The U.S. could also alert EU bodies, such as EUROPOL, about its goal of having 

Wright extradited. EUROPOL has the job of tracking down fugitives within the European Union, and while it is directly responsible to its EU members, it has capacities to track down people throughout the European Union. 

The FBI has a network of legal attaches throughout Europe, and these attaches, 

known as LEGATS, could also advise their counterparts of the U.S.’s current interest in Wright, with the goal of intensifying focus on him in the event he considers 

leaving Portugal. 

4. Use the State Department Reward Program To Secure Private Assistance in Rendering Wright From Portugal 

The United States has had reward programs in place for the rendition of important fugitives back to the United States. When I was at the State Department, these 

reward programs focused on two principle types of defendants—major drug traffickers, and major terrorists. In some cases, we put their photographs and names 

on books of matches and distributed them in the countries where we knew they 

were located, on the belief that the rewards would motivate people who lived nearby 

to provide information to the United States on their whereabouts. Alternatively, a 

reward might lead to a citizen’s arrest, in which the person making the detention 

would take actions to get the wanted person to U.S. authorities in a location where 

the U.S. officials could hold the fugitive and get them into U.S. custody. 

During the Clinton Administration, in which I served, this was known as a ‘‘special rendition,’’ and it was authorized under a number of circumstances, especially 

involving terrorists and murderers. The Justice Department policy for many years 

under a succession of Administrations has been to take the view that we will not 

inquire into the circumstances of a fugitive’s rendition to the United States. 

This approach has been upheld by the Supreme Court. In United States v. 

Alvarez-Machain, 504 U.S. 655 (1992), the Supreme Court ruled that a court has 

jurisdiction to try a criminal defendant even if the defendant was abducted from a 

foreign country against his or her will by United States agents. 

I note that hijacking an airplane and holding a gun to the head of a flight attendant, as Wright has confessed to doing to effectuate his escape from the United 

States, is a terrorist offense under multiple relevant international conventions of essentially global applicability, including an offense recognized by Portugal. 

The Justice Department’s internal procedures expressly allow the use of bountyhunters and rewards. As stated in the US Attorneys’ Manual: 

Due to the sensitivity of abducting defendants from a foreign country, prosecutors may not take steps to secure custody over persons outside the United 

States (by government agents or the use of private persons, like bounty hunters 

or private investigators) by means of Alvarez-Machain type renditions without 

advance approval by the Department of Justice. Prosecutors must notify the Office of International Affairs before they undertake any such operation. If a prosecutor anticipates the return of a defendant, with the cooperation of the sending 

State and by a means other than an Alvarez-Machain type rendition, and that 

the defendant may claim that his return was illegal, the prosecutor should consult with OIA before such return. 

5. Use a Lure To Get Wright To Leave Portugal 

The United States government is authorized to use lures against foreign fugitives. 

A lure is a subterfuge to entice a criminal defendant to leave a foreign country so 

that he or she can be arrested in the United States, in international waters or airspace, or in a third country for subsequent extradition, expulsion, or deportation to 

the United States. As the Justice Department Attorney Manual explains, ‘‘lures can 

be complicated schemes or they can be as simple as inviting a fugitive by telephone 

to a party in the United States.’’ 

There are a wide range of possibilities with a lure, which in light of Portugal’s 

location could involve the cooperation of officials in nearby jurisdictions, and could 

involve lures on land or sea, as well as in airspace. In order not to give Wright further clues about how the U.S. might go about this, I will provide no further details 

on these possibilities, other than to note that for the rest of his life, he will need 

to suspect absolutely everyone of being a potential lure, ready to betray him to justice in the United States. 

6. Undertake an Extraordinary Rendition 

In responding to terrorism, the United States has long been willing to undertake 

extra-judicial measures on its own, as it did decades ago against the Achille Lauro 

hijackers who murdered Leon Klinghoffer by throwing him into the ocean from his 

wheel-chair. 
38 

Such actions, in which U.S. government officials authorize direct action to capture 

a terrorist, can involve many different mechanisms. In some cases, such as the US 

Navy Seal operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the authorization may be to capture or kill the terrorist, as circumstances dictate. In other cases, the authorization 

may only extend to a capture of the wanted person. In principle, the U.S. government could choose to undertake a covert operation to snatch Wright as he is going 

about his day-to-day business, and to bring him to the United States to serve out 

his murder sentence, and if the law permits, to try him on his terrorist hijacking. 

Notably, the use of bounty-hunters, lures, and extraordinary rendition could well 

provoke significant protests on the part of the government of Portugal. There are 

precedents for those involved in these types of activities to become subject to criminal investigations and indictments in the country in which the fugitive is living. A 

successful extra-judicial rendition can also spark direct government-to-government 

protests which can chill a bilateral relationship for years, as happened between 

Mexico and the U.S. in connection with the Alvarez-Machain case. 

Such risks must be taken into account by private persons involved in an extralegal ‘‘snatch’’ of a fugitive and by U.S. officials when a rendition is the result of 

directed U.S. policy and activities. 

7. Apply Treasury OFAC Sanctions to Wright and Those Who Assist Him 

The United States has active economic sanctions against terrorists, administered 

through the Office of Foreign Asset Control (‘‘OFAC’’) at the U.S. Department of the 

Treasury. These sanctions are imposed against foreign threats who engage in activities, such as terrorism, that pose serious threats to U.S. national security. While 

Wright is a U.S. citizen, he is now located in Portugal and for the time being, is 

viewed by Portugal as a Portuguese citizen. Accordingly, the U.S. could designate 

Wright as a terrorist under OFAC sanctions, making it illegal for any U.S. person 

to engage in any transaction with him, and freezing any assets that he may have 

in any U.S. financial institution. 

Although other countries need not apply such sanctions to a person designated as 

a terrorist by the U.S. by OFAC, in practice, sanctioned persons face difficulty in 

undertaking financial transactions at any major financial institution, anywhere, due 

to automatic OFAC screening put into place by any bank that has contacts with 

U.S. financial institutions. Sanctions may be particularly appropriate in this case, 

as Wright has stated publicly that he hopes to write a book about his life. U.S. imposition of terrorist sanctions against him would make it much more difficult for 

him to sell the book and to profit off his crimes, and might make it possible for profits from the book to be seized by the U.S. 

8. Put Bilateral Pressure on Portugal Through Limitations on Other Bilateral Programs and Activities, Such As in the Law Enforcement or Security Sphere 

In principle, the U.S. could undertake steps to punish Portugal for its court’s unjust refusal to extradite Wright. However, in the case of Portugal, such steps would 

likely frustrate rather than facilitate justice. To begin with, it would appear to be 

fundamentally unfair. The failure to extradite Wright was the decision of an independent local judge, not Portugal’s government as a whole, its justice ministry, or 

its other law enforcement components. The U.S. and Portugal work closely on military issues, which include support for U.S. forces deployed throughout Europe, the 

Middle East, Asia, and Africa, as well as counterterrorism, humanitarian, and combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. U.S. law enforcement work daily with Portuguese counterparts on a range of activities of deep importance to the security of 

both countries. It would almost surely be counterproductive to place this cooperation 

at risk through generalized sanctions, restrictions, or constraints against directed at 

Portugal to apply pressure to secure Wright’s return to the United States. 

That said, our Ambassador to Portugal, our law enforcement and intelligence 

agencies, and the State Department and Justice Department generally, can continue 

to raise this issue as one that needs to be resolved, inviting positive steps by Portugal, such as denaturalization and deportation, with the goal of securing justice for 

Walter Patterson, and for all of those victimized by Wright’s criminal and terrorist 

activities. 

9. Beyond George Wright—Securing Justice Globally 

For many decades, the U.S. government has worked to build a global array of 

tools to extradite or otherwise secure the return to the U.S. of fugitives, regardless 

of their location. These policies are sensible, and broadly serve the interests of the 

American people and of justice. There is nothing wrong with the international instruments and mechanisms we have in place. However, it is inevitable that in some 

particular cases, an extradition will fail and justice will be denied. 
39 

In such cases, as my testimony highlights, the U.S. has a set of graduated tools 

it can use to secure justice regardless. 

Which of these tools will be most applicable in any particular case depends on the 

circumstances of the case, the governments involved, the attitude of the foreign government to the case, and a host of important institutional equities, such as bilateral 

cooperation on other security and law enforcement matters. 

The Congress could strengthen the Executive Branch’s ability to analyze and 

apply these tools and to consider whether it has other ones through encouraging ongoing interagency consideration of the problems of failed extraditions. It was my experience that interagency discussions of such issues tended only to arise in an ad 

hoc fashion, relating to particular cases or particular bilateral relationships. A Congressional mandate that the President, in consultation with the Secretary of State 

and Attorney General, provide an annual report on extraditions to Congress covering such issues as total extraditions, number of extraditions refused, reasons for 

refusal of extraditions, and steps taken by the U.S. in response to a refused extradition, might provide for further focused attention on these issues by both the Executive Branch and by Congress, thereby facilitating and vindicating the goal of securing justice for all. I understand that any Administration might resist putting such 

information in one place due to its desire to protect confidential intelligence, diplomatic and law enforcement programs, activities, and relationships. For that reason, 

the Committee may wish to consider structuring any such reporting mandate to provide for a public report that provides statistical data and information on completed 

matters, with a classified appendix to cover matters that are ongoing or otherwise 

necessarily secret. 

10. Conclusion: A Fugitive Can Run, But Cannot Hide, From Justice 

George Wright has expressed his relief at not being returned to the United States 

to serve out his prison sentence, and being allowed to spend the remainder of his 

life with his wife and his grown children, while profiting off his crimes by writing 

a book about them. 

Walter Patterson and his family have been denied such pleasures by Wright due 

to decisions he took of his own volition, without regard for the consequences to anyone else. 

In this case, and in other cases like this, it should be the policy of the United 

States to take appropriate steps to make sure that murderers and terrorists, wherever located, can never breathe the sigh of relief that they have reached safety as 

a result of out-lasting law and justice. 

Which of those steps should be taken in this case will depend on the consideration 

by those in the U.S. government with the most knowledge of the facts about what 

will best secure justice here. The Committee may contribute to that process through 

ongoing dialogue with those who have those current responsibilities. 

I am available to respond to any questions you may have. 

For the Committee’s background, I am currently a Senior Director at the Washington strategic communications firm of APCO Worldwide, where I provide strategic 

advice on a range of issues from financial services regulation to foreign investment 

and trade, consumer regulations, congressional investigations, data protection, foreign corrupt practices, energy policy, information security, money laundering, national security and sanctions. At the State Department, I was one of the architects 

of U.S. international policies and strategies on promoting and harmonizing financial 

transparency, as well as on cross-border law enforcement issues. I led negotiations 

on these and related issues with the European Union and the Organization of American States, as well as bilaterally with China, Cyprus, Hungary, Israel, Lebanon, 

Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Thailand and numerous other countries in Europe, Latin 

America, Southeast Asia and Africa. I previously served for 10 years as chief counsel 

and principal legislative assistant to U.S. Senator John F. Kerry, handling and 

drafting legislation pertaining to financial regulation and working with the Senate 

committees on foreign relations and banking. During that time, I helped conduct a 

series of congressional investigations, including the investigation of the Bank of 

Credit and Commerce International from 1989–1992. In November 1999, I received 

a distinguished honor award from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright for my 

service at the State Department. The award stated that I ‘‘created the capacity of 

the Department and the U.S. government to deal with international crime and 

criminal justice as important foreign policy functions,’’ and that ‘‘the scope and significance of his achievements are virtually unprecedented for any single official.’’ 

(41) 

M A T E R I A L F O R 

T H E R E C O R D 
42 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Photograph of Walter Patterson 

• DD-214/Honorable Discharge Certificate (copies) 

• Statements for the Record 

Statement 1: Granddaughter 12/28/2011 

Statement 2: Granddaughter (no date) 

Statement 3: Granddaughter (no date) 

Statement 4: Granddaughter (no date) 

• Impact Statement sent to Portuguese Judge from Ann Patterson—Includes ‘‘Impact of Crime on my teen and adult years’’ list 

• Letter from The Honorable Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ) to The Honorable Pedro 

Passos Coelho, Prime Minister of the Portuguese Republic (12/05/2011) 

• Letter from Ann Patterson to Secretary Clinton (01/10/2012) 

• Response letter from Department of State (Thomas Heinemann) to Ann Patterson (06/19/2012) 

• Letter from Ann Patterson to Attorney General Holder (03/06/2012)—with attached article from the Asbury Park Press ‘‘Instead of Extradition, possible 

movie deal’’ 

• Response letter from DOJ (Ronald Welch) to Sen. Lautenberg/Ann Patterson 

• Article: ‘‘Aren’t They Cute?: America and some special criminals’’ National Review 

• Newspaper Coverage List 
43 
44 
45 
46 
47 
48 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF WALTER PATTERSON’S GRANDDAUGHTER

December 28, 2011 

To whom it may Concern: 

I am not sure I will ever know the full impact of never meeting my grandfather, 

Walter Patterson, but, I can speculate how things could have been. I imagine that 

he would have spent time with his grandchildren as we grew up; visiting us, playing 

with us, spending holidays with us, going to our weddings, and meeting his greatgrandchildren. I am sure he would have told us his war stories and life adventures, 

but we will never know his story as told by Walter Patterson. 

If my grandfather hadn’t been murdered, I think my grandmother would have 

lived longer to enjoy the above mentioned activities with her grandchildren. George 

Wright took both of them away from us. Even though George Wright denies firing 

shots, it was not a bullet that killed my grandfather. He died from severe head trauma—trauma inflicted on my grandfather by George Wright. Beating a man who was 

a decorated World War II veteran while he was down is a cowardly act. It’s time 

for George Wright to grow up and be a man and face punishment for the violent, 

disgusting crime he committed. Wright chose his actions, now he needs to pay the 

price for them. 

One of the biggest impacts of living without my grandfather was financial hardship. He was a gas station owner who probably would have had financial security 

to pass along to my mother. Instead, she had her father and all that he had to offer 

taken away. My mother had to start with nothing; therefore times were extremely 

difficult for us as we grew up. I started babysitting and taking care of neighbors’ 

pets when I was in 5th grade to earn some money. I used that money to buy a car. 

As soon as I was old enough to drive, I went to work after school each day and on 

weekends to pay for car insurance, gas and clothes. If I needed something, I knew 

I had to pay for it. After high school, I had to work two jobs while going to college 

full time. I had to pay my own tuition. I had to pay for my own wedding. My parents simply didn’t have the means to help their children with these things. 

If my grandfather had been alive, he could have watched us when we were little 

so my mom could have gone to work to help out financially. My parents did the best 

they could just to put food on the table for us. My dad hunted so we ate a lot of 

venison. There were no ‘‘extras’’ or luxury items. We wore hand-me-downs and were 

taught to be happy with what we had. My parents wouldn’t have needed to struggle 

if my grandfather had been here to help. My grandfather wasn’t here to help due 

to George Wright’s senseless crime. 

Whatever happened in the hospital when my mom went to see her father as he 

was dying caused her to not be able to go to hospitals anymore. She has eleven 

grandchildren that she was unable to see when they were born—not until they came 

home. My daughter was in the special care nursery for ten days when she was born. 

Luckily she was ok, but my mom may have never seen her granddaughter alive. 

I split my head open as a child, and had to wait for a ride to the hospital to get 

stitches because my mom couldn’t take me to the hospital and my dad was at work. 

He worked as many hours as he could just to make ends meet. 

It is difficult to speculate how things would have been if my grandfather hadn’t 

been murdered, but his presence could have only made life easier and better for all 

of us. George Wright turned my mother’s life upside down, and five generations of 

the Patterson family have been negatively affected. Wright has lived a full life while 

my grandfather’s life was senselessly taken away. Wright should be thankful for the 

time he has had with his family. At least he has the opportunity to say goodbye 

to his wife and kids as he leaves to serve his sentence. My grandfather wasn’t given 

that courtesy. George Wright’s fate is a result of his own choices and actions. My 

grandfather was an innocent man trying to make an honest living. He fought for 

our country and for our freedom. In return, he was beaten to death by George 

Wright. Please provide justice for my grandfather, Walter Patterson, and extradite 

George Wright to the United States to finish serving his sentence for the brutal 

beating and murder of my grandfather. Thank you for your time and consideration. 

Sincerely, Walter Patterson’s granddaughter 
49 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF WALTER PATTERSON’S GRANDDAUGHTER

I have been asked to describe how George Wright’s crime in 1962 has affected my 

life. 

George Wright and his accomplices robbed, beat, and murdered my grandfather, 

Walter Patterson, in November 1962. My mother and her sister were young teenagers at that time and were completely devastated by the loss of their beloved father. My grandmother had to go forward to raise them, alone, and never recovered 

from her broken heart. She died in 1964. 

The family could take small comfort in the fact that Wright was convicted and 

sentenced for this heinous crime. While it did not bring my grandfather back, knowing his murderer would be imprisoned surely brought relief, even though it could 

not bring closure. My mother and her sister nevertheless went ahead with their 

lives, getting married and starting their own families, but there was always something dark and secret about the family history. They preferred not to speak of their 

pain and of the hole their father’s death left in their lives, but they had to confront 

their grief all over again when Wright escaped jail, hijacked a plane, and fled the 

country. The family lived in fear that he would be back to seek revenge. My cousins 

and I were very young children at this time; my sister and two cousins had not yet 

been born. We were fortunate to not know what was going on while the media followed Wright’s plane hijacking, but my. mother and her sister were reminded of this 

man who had taken their happiness from them, and the cycle of grief started all 

over again. 

Years passed and what had happened to Grandfather Patterson and how he suffered was never spoken of. We knew it was not a topic open for discussion, and lived 

up until October 2011 knowing only that he had been robbed and died of his gunshot wounds. Imagine the horror and fear when seven grandchildren, now all grown 

with children of their own, learned the shocking details. My cousins, sister and I 

grieved this man we never knew like the death had just occurred. And because it 

remains a raw nerve for my mother and her sister, we still do not discuss it to spare 

their feelings. 

Each grandchild has wondered what life would have been like had our grandfather lived. No doubt many of our life circumstances would have been different if 

we’d had his guidance and support. There was no grandpa to spend time with, learn 

from, love. Not knowing this important member of our family has been hard enough, 

but knowing he was murdered and that his murderer walks free in Portugal brings 

feelings that are difficult to describe. There is the sense that justice has failed us, 

that justice has forgotten the gentle, hardworking, World War II veteran, husband 

and father, respected member of the community, and we would like to respectfully 

remind justice that we will not and cannot forget George Wright’s crime against our 

family. We respectfully demand that he be brought back to the United States to 

serve the remainder of his sentence. My grandfather’s life is worth that. 

Walter Patterson’s Granddaughter 
50 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF WALTER PATTERSON’S GRANDDAUGHTER

November 23, 1962 changed the lives of many people, as the result of the actions 

of a few. A brave, hardworking World War II veteran was gunned down for $70.00. 

Such a senseless murder! The result of this incident has had an incredible impact 

on many people. His children were left fatherless, his wife became a widow and his 

grandchildren only knew him by a picture that hung in a dining room. He never 

met his seven grandchildren or his fourteen greatgrandchildren. 

What is the true impact of his death? No one really knows because the option of 

having him around was taken away. What would be different had Walter been 

around to oversee things and help make decisions? These questions can be asked 

over and over and no one will ever know the answer. Perhaps George Wright would 

know the answers to these questions. After all, he was responsible for that tragic 

night in November. George is still here, alive and breathing, spending time with his 

family, sharing holidays and laughs. Does he ever think about his actions on that 

fateful night? Does he ever regret the crime, or just regret getting caught? Does he 

care at all about the people who will never hear Walter speak, ask him for advise 

or see him smile? 

Walter Patterson was my Grandfather. I never had the benefit of spending even 

one minute with him. He was killed seven years before I was born. What I have 

experienced is: a mother who lost her father way too young, a mother whose father 

wasn’t at her high school graduation and a mother who had no one to walk her 

down the aisle. There is a huge void where my grandfather should be. What exactly 

is that void? I don’t know—and I will never know. So much time has gone by, full 

of so much pain. Thank you. 

Walter Patterson’s Granddaughter 
51 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF WALTER PATTERSON’S GRANDDAUGHTER

‘‘Get away with murder’’. To some it’s just an expression, but to others a reality. 

Forty-nine years ago, a little girl of 14 years old received a horrifying phone call. 

On the other end was a distratight family member calling to notify a woman that 

her husband had been brutally attacked and shot. The 14 year old was the recipient 

of this message, and was told nothing except ‘‘Walt’s been shot’’. Walter was her father, who, 2 days later had vanished from her life forever. 

It sounds like a movie or story line for a perfect mystery book series. To my family 

and myself it’s the harsh reality of the world we live in. My mother is that 14 year 

old girl, and Walter Patterson is the grandfather I never met. From what I understand and conclude from stories told, he was a hard working family man. He had 

risked his life in the U.S. Army, fighting for the freedom of the people in the country 

in which we reside. Going to battle and sustaining injuries during combat isn’t what 

took him from his family. It was the appalling choice of some of the very Americans 

he was fighting for. It was a moment that would change the lives of many people. 

On the night of November 23, 1962, Walter Patterson was working at a gas station he ran. It was an innocent night’s work, and he was making a living to provide 

for his family, who consisted of a wife and two young daughters. When a car of 4 

individuals pulled around the back of the shop, an average workday would soon take 

a turn for the worse. Little did my grandfather know, he’d soon be faced with individuals garbed with stockings on their heads, and equipped with guns in their 

hands. What began as a robbery ended in murder. The individuals who set out with 

the intentions of killing had succeeded. Luckily, our justice system had been victorious in apprehending these individuals, and convicting them for the crime they 

committed. 

Walter Patterson can’t be brought back to watch his two daughters blow out their 

birthday candles, hang Christmas lights with his family, or carve the Thanksgiving 

turkey. He would never be able to participate in daddy-daughter dances, walk his 

daughters down the aisle on their wedding day, or enjoy the births of their children, 

but at least the creatures responsible for this would pay for what they’ve done ... 

or would they? 

Seven years of a prison sentence was apparently all that one of these cowards, 

a man by the name of George Wright, could handle. As if choosing to participate 

in a murder wasn’t enough of a poor choice, his life of crime wouldn’t stop there. 

Mr. Wright had the brilliant idea to steal the prison warden’s car to make his great 

escape. Being a criminal obviously came easy to this individual, because his law 

breaking actions didn’t stop there. What does a convicted murderer do after he 

breaks out of prison? Well, this particular criminal chose to expand his criminal 

record by hijacking a passenger plane, putting yet more lives at risk, and making 

a mockery of the F.B.I. He managed to collect one million dollars in ransom money, 

which he demanded be delivered by F.B.I. agents in their underwear or swimsuits. 

One would think if this murderer were to be caught, he’d really be in serious trouble 

with all the law breaking actions he carried out. 

For many years, George Wright lived his life. He even got married and had a family of his own. Were the images of a beaten and shot man ever present in his mind? 

Did he ever think about the lives of those family members that were torn apart on 

that day that he chose to act like a man of no feeling or regard for human life? 

When he was counting his illegally obtained million dollars was he picturing 2 

young girls standing over a coffin painfully watching their young, brave father be 

buried?. Was he thinking of the young single mother who was left to deal with her 

newly broken family? I doubt it, and George Wright was actually running like a 

coward while conspiring about how he would be able to live the good life himself. 

No conscience, remorse, or regret has ever been evident by this individual’s actions. 

He must have felt he had something to hide, proven by the fact that he illegally 

and unofficially changed his name and remained in a country half a world away 

from where he destroyed Walter Patterson and his family. 

Forty-one years have passed by. After diligent searching and a refusal to put this 

case file back in the file cabinet, the F.B.I. was hopeful that they had found this 

murderer and fugitive. That 14 year old girl who received that devastating phone 

call is now 63 years old and has received yet another phone call regarding the murder of her father. Only this time, the phone call is of a positive nature. The news 

of this armed robber, murderer, prison escapee, plane hi-jacker, and fraud being 

caught seems surreal. After all these years, this man will finally pay the price for 

the crimes he chose to commit. The life of Walter Patterson can’t be brought back. 

Knowing that justice will be served and that George Wright literally won’t get away 

with murder, will help to close the door on the devastating chapter of Walter Patterson’s families lives. 
52 

Protecting and hiding a known, convicted criminal is considered a crime in itself. 

Portugal, the place in which George Wright chose to flee to and hide out at, like 

the coward he is, chose to protect him by refusing extradition. How can an average 

individual be punished for hiding out a criminal, yet here you have the government 

of a country harboring this fugitive and getting away with it? When this news hit 

our family, many emotions were felt. The feelings of anger, sadness, and frustration 

are overwhelming. A convicted killer and fugitive has been caught, but is being protected from the law. The rationale is that he is now a Portuguese citizen, and therefore they feel the need to protect him. Never mind the fact that Walter Patterson 

had no protection from this individual’s hands, but in hindsight, is George Wright 

even a legitimate Portuguese citizen? He used criminal acts to access the country, 

and used a fraudulent family background and name to obtain his so-called citizenship. George Wright has not become a Portuguese citizen but rather the pseudo-individual he created has. One would think a government would want to rid their 

country of crime and corruption, but Portugal is protecting an individual who has 

brought these things to them. 

Portugal isn’t the only country to blame for this monster having the ability to 

move on with his life, as if his hands were not a murder weapon at one time, as 

if his own mind didn’t tell him to conunit the various crimes of a hateful, malicious 

monster. The very country that Walter Patterson received numerous medals for protecting is contributing to George Wright literally getting away with murder. The 

country in which immigrants travel far and wide to reach to obtain a ‘‘better’’ life 

for themselves, our very own United States of America, has given up on one of its 

own. The decision has been made that a human life that was taken illegally by the 

hands of another isn’t worth pursuing justice for. Members of our Attorney General’s office have decided that no more appeals are necessary in the attempt to extradite this convicted murderer so justice can be served. It would be very interesting 

to see if this same decision would be made if the individual who was prematurely 

buried carried one of their last names. This war veteran fought for the freedom of 

citizens of the United States. The government was unable to protect him from 

George Wright while he was still alive. The least that the United States could do 

is return the fight that he gave and express the need to have this man brought back 

to where this crime was committed. In public schools across the nation, hundreds 

of students and staff proudly recite the Pledge of Allegiance. It would be reassuring 

to know that these aren’tjust words, but actually have true meaning and that our 

country stands by the last line of this pledge. If nothing else, this country should 

have the ambition to send the message that the United States is just that— 

UNITED. 

Thank you for your time. 

Walter Patterson’s Granddaughter 
53 

IMPACT STATEMENT SENT TO PORTUGUESE JUDGE FROM ANN PATTERSON

December 27, 2011 

Your Honor, 

My name is Ann Patterson, and I am the daughter of Walter Patterson, who was 

robbed, beaten, shot, and left for dead at his gas station on November 23, 1962. He 

succumbed to these injuries on November 25, 1962. 

George Wright is one of the men involved in this crime. This has impacted my 

life twice—once when I was a child of 14 and then again this year as we have had 

to relive these events all over again. 

In 1962, there was no counseling. The world suddenly became a scary place. My 

mother was not well and could not take care of us. We did not know how we were 

going to get food, pay the bills, or get anywhere except for school. The custody services wanted to remove us from our home. My mother’s brother told them that he 

would look in on us every day and we were allowed to stay with our mother until 

school was out. On the last day of school, we took our clothes and moved in with 

our uncle and aunt. My mother passed away fifteen months after my father. 

I never did get over the fear of being out in the world. I have ever worked a full 

time job, I did not want to work where there was a possibility of being robbed and 

hurt. I do not stop at the gas station to put gas in the car. My husband has to do 

that. I do not go far from home and do not travel alone. These are real fears for 

me. 

Going through this again has opened up the wound and brought up all those old 

feelings, but worse than before. I can’t sleep; I relive the crime itself and cannot 

get the image out of my mind of my father lying on the floor of his gas station with 

three men standing over him beating him up. The image of George Wright hitting 

him with the stock of his gun so hard that they can identify Wright by these marks 

left on my father is particularly distressing. 

My stomach is constantly upset and I have lost ten pounds. I try to eat one good 

meal a day even though I feel nauseous. 

This has all taken its toll on my family as well, not just with the time involved 

with the media but also that I cannot keep up my duties as a wife, mother, grandmother, and babysitter. 

My life has been derailed twice because of this crime and now it will take some 

time to get over the effect of it yet again. I am now seeing a counselor. 

I was only 14 when my father was taken from us. I was the last one in our house 

to tell him ‘‘goodbye’’ and wave to him as he drove off to work. It was the day after 

Thanksgiving. Every year, the calendar reminds me of losing Daddy when we get 

near Thanksgiving. 

When the phone rang that night and I answered, my aunt said, ‘‘Walt’s been 

shot’’, I started crying as my mother took the phone. She got a ride to the hospital 

while we (my sister and I) stayed home - afraid to be alone. When my mother got 

home the next morning, she said that she couldn’t recognize Daddy; that they had 

beat him up very badly. The doctors operated for eight hours that night on Daddy’s 

head and one of them told my mother that he ‘‘thought he had gotten out all of the 

bone fragments’’. They also had to wire his jaw shut. They could not give him anything for pain due to the head trauma and had to tie him down in the bed. The 

doctor told my mother that Daddy would probably have a seizure from this head 

trauma and he did the next night. He would also never see again. The doctor said 

that if he survived, he would be a vegetable and need a lot of care. 

My father was unrecognizable in his casket. I knew it was him by looking at his 

hands. Everyone said now he wouldn’t suffer any longer and that he wouldn’t have 

any more pain. 

George Wright has said that he was not the shooter. He has taken responsibility 

for the beating, it was brutal and unnecessary beating that killed Daddy. If there 

had not been a beating, then the doctors could have operated on the bullet wound 

and Daddy would have recovered. 

George Wright has a dark past and hidden his life from a lot of people, living a 

life of lies. He is a convicted murderer and now his past has caught up with him. 

It is time for him to come back to the United States and face the justice he has 

managed to escape from for so long. I was disappointed at the first and second ruling, but I am hopeful that the Portuguese government will be helpful in achieving 

justice for Daddy. 

Sincerely, Ann Patterson 
54 

IMPACT OF CRIME OF MY TEEN YEARS AND YOUNG ADULT YEARS

1) No Daddy at high school graduation. 

2) Had to walk 2 miles to work packing eggs and babysitting. 

3) Worked 30 hours a week during senior year in high school to earn enough 

money to buy a car and insurance. Took the bus, then walked the rest of the way. 

4) Went without the encouragement and support a father gives. 

5) Got first asthma attack 6 weeks after Daddy’s death when I was upset thinking 

about his death. 

6) No Daddy to walk me down the aisle at my wedding. 

7) My 5 children were deprived of the kind, loving, smiling grandfather that 

makes a child’s life more complete. 

8) Hastened my mother’s death. 

9) Almost had to live in a state institution. 

10) Watched my great uncle starve himself to death. He lived in our house and, 

when told about Daddy’s death, said, ′′I don’t want to stay in a world where this 

is allowed to happen′′. He never ate another morsel of food and died a couple of 

months later. His wife died 5 months after he did. 

11) In 15 months, we experienced the deaths of all 4 adults we lived with and 

lost our home. 

12) Could not grieve Daddy’s death as we had to be strong for our mother. Stoically went through teen years emotionally numb. 
55 
56 

LETTER FROM ANN PATTERSON TO SECRETARY CLINTON

Jan. 10, 2002 

Dear Mrs. Clinton, 

My name is Ann Patterson and I am the daughter of Walter Patterson. My father 

was beaten, robbed and shot at his gas station in Wall Township, New Jersey on 

November 23, 1962. He died of his injuries on November 25, 1962. One of the men 

responsible, George Wright, escaped from prison in 1970 and he jacked a plane in 

1972. The FBI and U.S. Marshals recently found him in Portugal and then requested his extradition to the U.S. to serve out the rest of his 15–30 year sentence. 

The extradition was denied and the U.S. is appealing that decision. I understand 

that the U.S. has an extradition treaty with Portugal. 

I was just 14 when I lost my father. He was a decorated World War II veteran 

who just wanted to earn a living and support his family. He worked 10–15 hour 

days at his gas station. My mother, already ill with a heart condition, passed away 

15 months later leaving my sister and me orphaned. 

Just as I felt helpless in 1962, I feel that way now after the extradition was 

de4nied. Can you do something for the Patterson family to bring about justice for 

my father? 

Thank you for your consideration. 
57 
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64 

NEWSPAPER COVERAGE LIST

Ashbury Park Press 

Wed. Sept. 28, 2011 p.1 

Thurs. Sept. 29, 2011 p. A15 

Fri. Sept 30, 2011 p. A8 

Sat. Oct. 1, 2011 p.1 

Sun. Oct. 15, 2011 p. A4 

Fri. Nov. 18, 2011 p.A5 

Sat. Nov. 26, 2011 p. A1 

Wed. Nov. 30, 2011 p. A12 

Fri. Nov. 31, 2011 

Sat. Dec. 31, 2011 p. A13 

Tues. Jan. 17, 2012 

Thurs. Feb. 2, 2012 p. B 4 

Sun. Feb. 5, 2011 

Thurs. Mar. 1, 2012 p. 13 

Fri. Mar. 2, 1012 p. A14 

Sun. Mar. 11, 2012 letter to the editor 

Thur. Mar. 15, 2012 p. A17 

Wed. Mar. 28, 2012 p. A 16 

Community Report 

Thurs. Dec. 1, 2011 p. 1 

Daily News 

Wed. Sept. 28, 2011 p. 12 

New York Times 

Thurs. Sept. 29, 2011 p. 1 

Star Ledger 

Wed. Sept 29, 2011 p. 1 

Tues. Nov. 22, 2011 p. 1 

Sun. Mar. 11, 2012 Sec. II p. 1 

Gentleman’s Quarterly, 

May, 2012 p. 134 

National Review 

May 14, 2012 p. 22 

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