BUFFALO, NY - A report from Bloomberg is giving the clearest picture to date of the well-being of a local man who is on the run from law enforcement as an international fugitive.
"As you can imagine, he was very careful about not giving clues to where he's located," said Bob Van Voris, the Bloomberg News reporter who says he received four emails from Paul Ceglia -- the Wellsville man, accused of attempting to defraud Facebook and whose been a wanted man for more than a year.
"I'd written about him a few weeks ago and I guess he just used that as an excuse to get in touch and send me an email out of the blue," Van Voris said.
Back in 2010, Ceglia sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, claiming they had an agreement, that said Ceglia owned half of the social media network giant. Facebook lawyers said Ceglia fabricated and destroyed evidence to support his claim.
The lawsuit amounted to federal charges against Ceglia, who was accused of mail and wire fraud. Last year, while Ceglia was serving in-home detention, and awaiting trial, he decided to flee.
Bloomberg reports direct quotes from Ceglia -- "I felt I had no one in government I could trust." [...] "An opportunity presented itself, so I MacGyver'd some things together and started running for my life."
Federal probation officials say Ceglia wasn't responding to phone calls, so they visited his home and found his ankle monitor rigged to a pole, connected to the ceiling. The contraption was motorized -- giving the impression the monitor was still on Ceglia. His wife and two boys were then reported missing.
"They haven't been heard from directly," Van Voris said.
But as Bloomberg reports, Ceglia says his family is okay. Authorities believe he's traveling with his wife and kids.
"I do take comfort in the fact that he is safe, his wife is safe, his kids are safe," said Robert Ross Fogg, an attorney for Ceglia.
Where is Paul Ceglia? "Far from U.S. soil to be sure."
The U.S. Marshals Service is leading the search for Ceglia. One official told me they're aware of the Bloomberg report, and they're working to verify the report's authenticity. They also say they still have a $5,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of Ceglia.
Bloomberg says Ceglia told the paper that he's applied for asylum to a country that he would not name. So, by that account, Ceglia would be seeking protection from prosecution in the United States.
