FUGITIVE rape suspect Nicholas Rossi cried his eyes out as he was taken from jail to be extradited to the US.
We revealed how Rossi, 36, was finally flown back to face rape and sex assault charges in the States – which he faked his death to avoid.
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He was finally flown back to the US after a bizarre two-year extradition battle, which the Sunday Mail claims ended with Rossi struggling with US Marshals at the airport with his trousers around his ankles.
But jail sources claim the fugitive was “roaring and crying” as he left Edinburgh’s Saughton nick on Friday.
In claims published by the paper, a jail insider said staff were glad to see the back of him, saying: “Nicholas was roaring and crying as he was taken away.
“He had no idea what was coming when they went into his cell and said he was leaving. The prison staff are glad to get rid of him, his demands and fake illnesses were wearing everyone down.”
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But eyewitnesses claim Rossi continued to fight as he got on the plane, struggling so much that the fugitive beast’s trousers fell down.
They told the paper: “The marshalls had to struggle with him and he obviously didn’t want to get on that plane.
“He struggled so much his trousers ended up at his ankles.”
Rossi’s departure finally brings an end to a two-year saga after the fantasist pretended to be an Irish orphan called Arthur Knight.
Most read in Scottish News
We exclusively revealed how Rossi, who faked his own death and fled America in 2017, was snared on a Glasgow Covid ward in 2021, after being struck down by the virus.
He is said to have checked in as Arthur Knight but was traced after a tip-off from Interpol while he was on a ventilator.
Staff recognised his distinctive tattoos, which he later claimed had been faked by an NHS worker.
After a number of hearings at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, a sheriff slammed the fantasist and concluded his claim to be an Irish orphan was a total lie.
The bizarre saga of Nicholas Rossi
THE Scottish Sun’s exclusives on Rossi have fascinated the world since he was caught in Scotland and embarked on a ‘scandalous’ attempt to fool the law.
- JULY 11, 1987: Born as Nicholas Alahverdian in Rhode Island, USA. The troubled youngster later takes his stepdad’s surname, Rossi, and spends time in care facilities.
- APRIL 2008: Convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage student at a college in Dayton, Ohio.
- MAY 2008: Rossi allegedly rapes a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah. He is also accused of a second rape in nearby Salt Lake City.
- 2017: Fiend flees to the UK. A woman alleges he raped her in Essex.
- JANUARY 2020: He tells reporters in Rhode Island he has cancer. A month later his “widow” claims he has died and been cremated.
- DECEMBER 2021: Rossi was traced by Police Scotland to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where he’s being treated for Covid under the name Arthur Knight.
- JANUARY 2022: Remanded in custody after missing court date. He later abuses hospital staff.
- NOVEMBER 11 2022: Sheriff Norman McFadyen rules he is wanted fugitive Rossi at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. An extradition hearing was arranged for March 2023.
- NOVEMBER 28, 2022: Essex Police confirm Rossi is under investigation for an alleged rape there.
- JANUARY 2023: Rossi’s application to be released on bail is refused.
- AUGUST 2023: Sheriff Norman McFadyen rules Rossi can be extradited to the US to face rape charges after a six day hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
- DECEMBER 2023: Rossi fights his extradition at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, representing himself after his legal team withdrew. He’s slapped down by top judge Lady Dorrian after a crazy rant about Mormons, US prosecutors and Ukrainian meat.
- DECEMBER 2023: We reveal Rossi’s lawyers have been paid almost £90,000 in legal aid by taxpayers.
- JANUARY 5 2024: Rossi is finally booted out of Scotland. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We assisted partner agencies with the extradition of a 36-year-old man.”
US authorities say he faked his death and fled to Scotland under an assumed identity.
He is facing a lengthy spell behind bars in Utah, where he is wanted over sex attacks against two women in 2008 before he faked his own death and fled the country.
He is wanted by the FBI over claims he racked up a £205,000 debt on credit cards he fraudulently obtained using his step-parents’ names and is also facing multiple allegations of domestic violence in Rhode Island.
His extradition was paused earlier this year when he was arrested over an allegation of rape in Essex in 2017.
