Puerto Rican takes plea deal in 1983 Conn. robbery

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — One of the last defendants in the 1983 robbery of $7 million from an armored car depot pleaded guilty today to his role in the record-setting heist, accepting a deal that calls for him to serve five years in prison.

Norberto Gonzalez Claudio, who was captured by the FBI last year in Puerto Rico, had been one of two remaining fugitives in the crime carried out by Los Macheteros, a militant group dedicated to independence for the U.S. Caribbean territory.

Wearing a gray beard and a beige prison jumpsuit, the 67-year-old Gonzalez acknowledged in U.S. District Court that he was a member of the organizing committee that planned the heist and arranged for the money to be sent out of the U.S. mainland to Mexico. Authorities have said they believe the money was used to support the clandestine group's operations.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty to two charges from the original indictment — foreign transportation of stolen money and conspiracy to rob federally insured bank funds — as well as a new charge of illegal weapons possession related to an automatic pistol found in his home when he was arrested. The plea agreement calls for capping his sentence at five years, and he will receive credit for the time he has spent in custody.