At 4:30 p.m. on June 30, 1997, 45-year-old Ghassan Saleh failed to show up for roll call at the Federal Correctional Institution-McKean in Lafayette Township.
That was the start of a 20-year life on the lam for Saleh, who was serving a 70-month sentence for a conviction of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine in Michigan, according to a affidavit filed after his alleged escape.
Saleh was arrested last month at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
Saleh was last seen at Tack’s Inn on U.S. Route 219, court records indicated.
“He was observed with an unknown white female who was described as heavy-set with short brown hair,” the affidavit stated. The pair left Tack’s Inn in a Dodge Dakota pick-up truck that was pulling a black trailer. Witnesses reported they were heading south on Route 219 toward Brookville.
The July 1, 1997, issue of The Era stated that when Saleh was confirmed missing at 4:30 p.m., June 30, 1997, it was after a thorough search of the prison camp at FCI-McKean, where Saleh was assigned. It was believed he walked away from the minimum security facility.
Officials at that time believed Saleh may have hitched a ride early that evening with the pickup truck driver in the direction of Interstate 80, but officials were unsure where he was headed.
An article that appeared in The Era on July 2, 1997, indicated Saleh arrived at FCI-McKean March 10, 1997, and had a projected release date of June 28, 2001.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania issued a warrant for his arrest on Jan. 5, 1999, after an indictment charging Saleh with escape from custody was filed.
Saleh was charged Sept. 2, 1997, and a grand jury sitting in the Western District indicted him on Jan. 5, 1999, the same day the warrant was issued.
On Nov. 17, the U.S. Marshals learned that Saleh had booked a flight to travel to the United States from abroad. He was scheduled to arrive Nov. 18 at John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, N.Y. There, deputy U.S. marshals detained him.
It is unclear where Saleh has been for the past 20 years, but The Erie Times-News reported that Saleh was flying into New York from Lebanon, according to the Associated Press.
A U.S. Marshals wanted poster for Saleh indicates he was born in the country of Lebanon. Court records indicate he is also a U.S. citizen.
Saleh will be arraigned at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Erie before Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter on one charge of escape from custody.
