HARTFORD, Conn.—A boat repairman well known in his small Connecticut town was exposed this week as a robbery convict who escaped 48 years ago from a prison work camp in Georgia.
Robert Stackowitz’s application for Social Security played a role in his capture, authorities said.
Stackowitz, 71, was arrested Monday by Connecticut state troopers and U.S. marshals at his home in Sherman, a town of about 3,600 along the New York border.
He had been serving a 17-year sentence for robbery in August 1968 when he escaped from the infirmary at a prison work camp in Carrolton, Georgia, the U.S. Marshals Service said. He was charged with robbery by force in 1966 in Henry County, Georgia, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections
A state trooper who works in Sherman, Michael Saraceno, said Stackowitz was cooperative when law enforcement showed up at his house around 8 a.m. Monday.
“He was a little speechless,” Saraceno said. “I think it’s been so long that I think he reached a point in his head where he thought they would never find him.”
Stackowitz, who also went by the alias Robert Gordon, lived alone and ran a boat repair business out of his home, about 2 miles from Saraceno’s office, the trooper said. Sherman is located along the northern shores of Candlewood Lake, which is popular among boaters.
Stackowitz was detained Tuesday on $75,000 bail. He’s expected to be sent back to Georgia in the coming weeks. He was arraigned in Danbury on Monday and his case was continued to June 6. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
