Fugitive rape suspect Nicholas Rossi was watched by a pair of FBI agents as he gave his bogus testimony in a Scots court. Two plain-clothes agents slipped into Edinburgh Sheriff Court to be present when Rossi gave evidence that he was actually an Irish orphan.
Rossi, 35, fled the United States where he was being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation over a string of offences. The agents travelled to the capital to watch the hearing held to determine Rossi’s true identity last month and sat incognito among reporters and court staff.
It’s believed they were gathering any information which could help prosecute Rossi in America and assist with the extradition bid. Sheriff Norman McFadyen ruled Rossi was the wanted fugitive after dismissing his wild story that he was actually a man called Arthur Knight.
A court source said: “The two FBI agents turned up at the court and made their identities known to security staff. At first no one could believe the FBI was at the sheriff court.
"They were obviously looking to gather anything useful for their case as they have been after Rossi for years now. They must’ve been as shocked as everyone else in court with the brazen lies Rossi told and they might’ve had trouble with his fake Irish accent.”
Advocate depute Paul Harvey described Rossi’s dodgy attempt at an Irish brogue as “all over the place”. Prosecutors spent three days presenting a wealth of fingerprint, photographic and witness evidence proving that Rossi was the US suspect.
Rossi, who is currently being held in Edinburgh’s Saughton Prison, was arrested at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in December 2021 while receiving treatment for Covid-19. He was detained on the original extradition warrant over an alleged 2008 rape in Utah. The FBI also had a warrant for his arrest on charges of fraud.
Sheriff McFadyen blasted Rossi’s claims to be Arthur Knight in his written ruling on the issue of identity. He called Rossi’s allegation he was tattooed while in a coma in the Glasgow hospital to frame him as “implausible and fanciful”.
The sheriff said Rossi’s “highly suspicious” change of names in recent years was “consistent with someone who was hiding from someone or something”. He concluded: “I am ultimately satisfied... that Mr Knight is indeed Nicholas Rossi, the person sought for extradition to the United States.”
Rossi will be transferred to England for questioning over an alleged rape from 2017. Essex Police are setting up a prisoner transfer agreement to ask about a rape complaint made by the first woman that Rossi met in the UK after fleeing the US.
Rossi’s next extradition hearing is set for later this month. The FBI were contacted for comment.
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