Photo: U.S. Marshals Service
The U.S. Marshals Service located a man who they believed resembled John Ruffo, a wanted fugitive who has been on the run for the past 23 years. In 1998, Ruffo was convicted for his role in a massive $350 million bank fraud scheme and sentenced to 17-and-half-years behind bars. Instead of turning himself in to serve his sentence, he fled and hasn't been seen since.
Earlier in the week, the agency asked the public for help identifying a man who was seen sitting behind home plate during a 2016 game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox.
A relative of the man saw the news report and contacted the Marshals Service, telling them that he was a relative of the man sitting behind home plate and that he was not Ruffo.
Agents followed up and met with the man, who wished to remain anonymous, at his home. They conducted a quick investigation and cleared him after comparing his fingerprints with Ruffo's.
"You can clearly see the difference between the fingerprints," Deputy Pat Valdenor said, according to ABC News. "Even without the fingerprints, there was the birth certificate, and I had his whole family in front of me -- three generations. I could see it wasn't Ruffo."
The search for Ruffo continues, and the Marshals Service has asked the public to submit any tips about his whereabouts on their website or through their app.