Video posted by a Russian TV network appears to show former Holyoke City Councilor and member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard Wilmer Puello-Mota signing…
A friend tells NBC10 Boston that a person seen in video posted by a Russian TV network looks and sounds like Puello-Mota, who is believed to have fled the country after missing the start of his trial in January
His lawyer, John M. Cicilline, told The Boston Globe that he called Puello-Mota on Jan. 8, the day before he was expected to plead guilty. According to prosecutors, he boarded a flight from Washington, D.C., to Istanbul, Turkey, a day earlier.Cicilline said Puello-Mota wanted a career in politics and thought the criminal case had ruined his life.The Associated Press made several calls to Cicilline. A person answering his office phone said he would not make any additional comment.
In video posted online last week, a man who looks like Puello-Mota talks directly to the camera, speaking in English over background music and Russian subtitles and discussing a military operation. His face is not blurred. He does not say his name, and the videos do not mention the Rhode Island criminal case.
"While the state cannot verify the authenticity of the videos and photographs, if they are accurate the defendant is well beyond the jurisdiction of this court and, if false, the defendant is engaged in an elaborate ruse to conceal his whereabouts," Rhode Island prosecutors said. The AP verified the location after examining satellite imagery and historical photos of the area. According to a plaque on the door, it's a military recruitment center run by the Russian Defense Ministry.
Ian Garner, an assistant professor of politics at Queen's University in Canada, called it"a huge propaganda opportunity" for Russia.
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