Pubdate: Sat, 13 Jun 1998
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Contact:   (414) 224-8280
Website: http://www.jsonline.com/
Author: Lisa Sink of the Journal Sentinel staff

FORMER FUGITIVE GETS 45-DAY SENTENCE

After 11 Years On The Run, Olivo Will Serve Time In Work-Release Jail

Waukesha -- More than 11 years after George Anthony Olivo went on the lam
to avoid charges in a brutal assault and home invasion, a judge agreed he
had made dramatic changes in his life and sentenced him to 45 days in a
work-release jail.

"I think that's a small price to pay," Waukesha County Circuit Judge Donald
Hassin Jr. told Olivo. "You are very, very fortunate."

Olivo, 48, could have faced five years in prison for bail jumping and theft.

Until his arrest last summer in Washington County, Olivo had been Waukesha
County's longest-sought fugitive. A drug dealer with a violent temper, he
skipped bail 11 years ago.

While on the run, he told Hassin on Friday, he changed his life for the better.

"I became a different person," he said. "I knew some day I would either be
killed or back in court."

While roaming across the country -- to Alaska, then Florida -- Olivo said
he became sober, abandoned the drug scene, worked as a self-employed
painter and was reunited with his once-estranged family, which includes a
son.

While living underground, he said, "my whole life changed."

When Olivo fled in 1986, he feared for his life, said his attorney, David
Geraghty.

At that time, Olivo was heavy into the drug scene and had made enemies by
cooperating with federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms after
Olivo was arrested for a 1985 drug rip-off.

On July 12 of that year, Olivo -- wearing a black ski mask -- broke into a
New Berlin home and pointed a gun at fellow drug dealer Richard Paul,
himself later sent to federal prison for drug violations.

Demanding Paul's cocaine and money, Olivo tied up Paul and a woman in the
home, kicked Paul, punched the woman and threatened to kill both of them
when he suspected they were hiding drugs from him, according to a criminal
complaint filed at the time.

Olivo fled from the home in Paul's van with $18,000 in cash, cocaine and a
safe. The van was later traced to a Wauwatosa motel, where Olivo was
arrested.

After eventually posting bail on that case, Olivo allegedly committed two
Muskego break-ins before he fled the area, failing to appear for an Oct.
13, 1986, court date for the New Berlin incident.

Before he fled, Waukesha County prosecutors had offered to drop almost all
the charges against him because of his cooperation with federal agents.
Nonetheless, Olivo said, he was paranoid about getting killed because of
that cooperation.

"I still feel some paranoia today," Olivo told the judge.

District Attorney Paul Bucher said he agreed to stand by the 1986
agreement, which left intact one misdemeanor theft count. Bucher added a
felony bail jumping count.

"This is not the same George Olivo that I expected to see" after 11 years
on the run, Bucher said.

Olivo said he regretted missing time with his family. He said he hoped to
continue working as a painter and to continue community service.

Hassin imposed a three-year prison sentence but stayed it in favor of three
years of probation with the 45-day term in the county's work-release jail.
Hassin told Olivo he hoped never to see him again court.

"You won't," Olivo promised.

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