EXCLUSIVE American fugitive Nicholas Rossi who faces extradition to face rape charge in US benefitted from £40,000 worth of legal aid while in UK
- Nicholas Rossi branded ‘as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive’ when tried
- The lawyers for American 36-year-old received £40,600 to fund his defence
Lawyers for an American fugitive rape suspect who said he was an Irish orphan after fleeing to the UK to avoid prosecution received more than £40,000 from British taxpayers to fight extradition.
Nicholas Rossi, branded ‘as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative’ by a sheriff as he was tried in Scotland, is wanted by authorities in Utah for allegedly raping a woman in 2008. He also faces accusations of domestic violence.
The 36-year-old – born Nicholas Alahverdian before changing his surname to that of his adoptive stepfather, David Rossi – claimed he had been diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in late 2019 and told friends he was dying.
An obituary appeared online for Rossi in early 2020 saying he had died and that his ashes had been scattered at sea.
But the following year he was arrested on a Covid hospital ward in Scotland, where he was registered as Arthur Knight, an Irish orphan, which he continues to insist is his real identity, claiming to have never set foot on American soil.
Nicholas Rossi (pictured leaving court last month) is wanted by authorities in Utah for allegedly raping a woman in 2008
Rossi (pictured in July last year) has claimed this is a case of false identity and said he is an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight
It was then ruled that the fugitive – who appeared throughout his court dates in a wheelchair, using an oxygen mask – is indeed Rossi after he was identified through DNA and distinctive tattoos, which were described in an Interpol alert.
READ MORE: Rossi was an ‘evil, devil’s spawn child’ who ‘always played the victim’, says his Engelbert Humperdinck impersonator stepfather
He also spoke with an unconvincing accent in a notorious interview with NBC’s Dateline, in which he angrily denied his name was Rossi or Alahverdian, and theatrically collapsed into his wife’s arms after trying to stand in a bizarre effort to prove he could not walk.
But the lying American’s benefitted from £40,600 to pay for his solicitors and counsel while he battled extradition.
Legal aid is public funding given by the government, which allows people to access legal help when they do not have enough money for a lawyer.
It is given directly to the solicitors or legal counsel.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Legal Aid Board said: ‘Legislation set by the Scottish Parliament allows for legal aid in extradition cases if the applicant is financially eligible, and it is in the interests of justice to make it available.
‘Legal aid is paid directly to solicitors or counsel to ensure that a person can be professionally represented in court so the justice system can operate properly and fairly for all concerned.
‘Extradition cases can result in higher costs because of their international nature but we work with legal teams to ensure these are managed effectively.’
But David Spencer, of the Centre for Crime Prevention, said: ‘Nicholas Rossi is a dangerous American criminal who has tried every trick in the book to evade justice for his abhorrent crimes.
‘That such a person should be entitled to tens of thousands of pounds of British taxpayer money to try and wriggle off the hook is a damning indictment of a legal aid system that is fundamentally broken.
He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence (pictured in 2008 in Utah)
A mugshot from the arrest of Nicholas Rossi by police in Massachusetts in 2010
David Rossi insists this picture of his stepson, Nicholas Rossi, aged 13 outside a mental hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2000, shows the same man now claiming to be an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who was arrested in Scotland in 2021
‘Nearly every week now, there is a new story about vast sums of taxpayer money being spent helping serious and dangerous criminals.
‘This money is lining the pockets of wealthy lawyers when it should be supporting people who need it. Legal aid reform is long, long overdue and this case is yet another that emphasises how badly that reform is needed.’
READ MORE: Rossi is being treated ‘abysmally’ in prison, fellow inmate claims
Rossi learned his fate at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on August 2, more than two years after he was arrested.
Sheriff Norman McFadyen ruled there is no impediment to him being extradited, with Scottish ministers to make a decision within the next 28 days.
An application for bail was lodged with the court which was refused by the sheriff.
Rossi’s legal team and the Crown deliberated on whether he should be transferred to England to face questioning over another alleged rape.
However, it was decided the matter would be dealt with following the decision to extradite him to the US.
Scottish ministers will now review the ruling to determine whether to issue an extradition order.
Under the guise of Arthur Brown, Rossi is believed to have met his wife, Miranda Knight, in Bristol in 2019 and married her in early 2020, assuming the name Arthur Knight.
In a wide-ranging interview with DailyMail.com, David Rossi laid bare harrowing details of the fugitive’s upbringing, describing him as ‘the devil’s spawn’
Nicholas Rossi’s wife Miranda Knight arrives for a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month
They moved to Glasgow shortly afterwards but in 2021, Rossi became so ill with Covid that he had to be hospitalised at the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
In July 2020, DNA allegedly linked him to a 2008 rape in Utah which is ultimately what led to his discovery in Scotland.
He was arrested on December 13, 2021 at the Glasgow hospital by police officers who served him with an Interpol red notice.
READ MORE: The extraordinary tale of Nicholas Rossi, the US fugitive found in a Covid ward in Glasgow: From a troubled upbringing with his Engelbert Humperdinck impersonator stepfather, to a convicted sex offender who fled to UK to evade rape charge
With the assistance of medical staff at the hospital, the patient initially named as Arthur Knight was identified as Rossi.
There has never been an official version of events from Rossi because he continues to insist he is Arthur Knight and that the authorities have the wrong man.
In court appearances, he has maintained his pained English accent, with an Irish lilt whenever he mentions the word Dublin, where he claims to have been born.
In his latest interview with The Times, as Arthur Knight, he said he wanted the ‘real’ Rossi to come forward to ‘save my wife and me from this mess’.
Last month, his stepfather, David Rossi – an Engelbert Humperdinck impersonator – revealed an old photograph of a floppy-haired teenager on a motorcycle, who, despite lacking a breathing aide and looking many pounds lighter, bears a striking resemblance to the man in court.
In a wide-ranging interview, he described his estranged stepson as ‘the devil’s spawn’ and said he was an ‘evil’ child who punched his mother and grandmother.
He told DailyMail.com: ‘He’ll do anything to hide from the law. The wheelchair, the mask. It’s c**p. There’s nothing wrong with him. Everything about him is Nicky.
‘My first impression of Nicky was that he had mental problems. He just got worse with every day.
‘He would urinate in his brother’s bed just to get his brother in trouble. Jump out of windows and run away in his underwear.
‘[Rossi’s mother] Diana said this is why you don’t get involved. But I stuck with it. I felt that they needed a father.’
Rossi (pictured leaving court last month) appeared at the court today by video link after claiming to be unwell
At one point during the interview, Rossi theatrically tried standing to prove he is unable to walk. Speaking in what sounded like an English accent, he said: ‘And we’d like privacy and I would like to go back to being a normal husband, but I can’t because I can’t breathe, I can’t walk’
Rossi was interviewed alongside his wife, Miranda Knight, whom he met in Bristol after fleeing to the UK to escape allegations of sexual assault in the US
In August, Rossi appeared at the court by video link after claiming to be unwell.
He was bent over at the waist, dressed in a green jumper and did not show his face.
When asked if he is Rossi, he did not answer.
Rossi’s lawyer Mungo Bovey KC attempted to delay proceedings and asked for Rossi to be excused.
Sheriff McFadyen suggested Rossi had attended court by video link ‘voluntarily’, but in an angry outburst Rossi said he had been brought before the camera by ‘physical force’ and he called the sheriff ‘a disgrace to justice’.
During a week-long hearing in June, Rossi wore what appeared to be a black legal gown and a yarmulke – a hat worn by Orthodox Jewish men.
Questioned about his dress in court, Rossi claimed the gown was actually called a bekishe, an overcoat also worn by Orthodox Jewish men.
The fugitive converted to Judaism while in HMP Edinburgh, where he has been held since 2022.
This final hearing was adjourned from July 12 following delays in court proceedings due to issues with transport from HMP Edinburgh as well as interruptions by Rossi, who attempted to dismiss his counsel Mr Bovey on two occasions.
Throughout the June hearing, Mr Bovey attempted to have the case discharged as his client is wanted for questioning about an alleged rape in England.
He also claimed Rossi was not brought before a sheriff within an appropriate amount of time and that he did not receive a crucial document from the National Crime Agency when he was arrested in December 2021 – but all of these applications were turned down by the sheriff.
Attempts were also made to give more time for Rossi’s mental health to be assessed, but three medical witnesses including psychiatrists Dr Kunal Choudhary and Dr Angela Cogan, as well as Rossi’s GP at HMP Edinburgh Dr Barbara Mundweil, said he showed no signs of acute mental illness.
Dr Mundweil also cast doubt on the state of Rossi’s health in general, telling the court she had ‘no major concerns’.
Giving evidence in his defence, Rossi claimed he was unable to raise his arms above his head because he was too unwell.
He said the reason he used a wheelchair was because the muscles in his legs had been so badly atrophied that he is unable to walk or support himself.
He also said he had considered going to the US to prove he is not Rossi.
A fellow prisoner, William King, gave evidence to court in which he claimed Rossi was treated ‘abysmally’ at HMP Edinburgh.
In closing speeches, Mr Bovey said extradition to the US would be a ‘flagrant breach’ of Rossi’s human rights.
But advocate depute Alan Cameron said there is no evidence that Rossi suffered any condition that would be a barrier to his extradition.
Previously, he had arrived at court in his wheelchair and with an oxygen tank and mask.
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