The Region - News from June 10, 1985

A suspect who jumped bond on rape charges in Palm Springs and eluded police for four years is in custody in Dallas after he was recognized by a customer at a restaurant where he waited tables, according to investigators. The customer spotted a photograph in a post office display of fugitive posters and called the FBI, federal agents said. Arrested was Steven Martin Verzi, 26, who was being held in lieu of $1-million bond on two charges of rape, another sex-related charge and one charge of burglary. In addition to the two California rapes, Verzi, who is fighting extradition, also is being questioned about the rape and strangulation of a woman in Dallas in 1983, investigators said.