‘46 Escapee Finds Tide of Support : Colleagues in Movie Industry Petition for One-Time Felon Who Built New Life

Thousands of friends and supporters in the movie industry have rallied to the cause of retired studio electrician Vincent Pelliccia, who was jailed Tuesday for escaping a Virginia chain gang 41 years ago.

At least 1,000 employees at the Burbank Studios had signed petitions by Friday urging Virginia Gov. Gerald Baliles to pardon the 62-year-old Pelliccia for the burglary he committed when he was 19. The petitions also will be sent to Gov. George Deukmejian, who has the authority to block Virginia’s effort to extradite Pelliccia.

Studio employees were also preparing to print T-shirts and bumper stickers emblazoned with Pelliccia’s name. The studio’s payroll department plans to set up a defense fund because so many of Pelliccia’s former co-workers and friends want to donate money to defray his legal expenses.

“It’s like a brush fire,” Terry Dunne, the studio’s payroll officer, said. The petition signatures are expected to swell to 3,000 or 4,000 next week. The support comes from all ranks of the movie industry--actors, actresses, directors, producers and crews--who worked with Pelliccia during his 28 years at the Burbank Studios.

“He was loved by everyone here,” Shirley Krims, a studio spokeswoman, said. “In 28 years no one has yet said one thing against him.”

“This is an unbelievable thing that they would hold something over a man so long,” said Al Murray, who works in the studio’s garage and knew Pelliccia well. “He is one of the nicest guys. He’d give you the shirt off his back.”

‘Already Rehabilitated’

The petition reads: “This crime is in no way characteristic of the Vincent Pelliccia we all know and love. Through the years, he has been an honest, straightforward individual who cared about his job, the company for which he worked, and those with whom he worked. . . . We believe that any attempt to rehabilitate or punish him would be a waste of a human life as well as a complete waste of taxpayers’ money. He has already rehabilitated himself remarkably well.”

George Kleinberg, supervisor of the studio’s food services and Pelliccia’s close friend, said supporters undertook the petition because it “can only do good.”

“Both governors have to realize the man paid for his sins. To send him back would be an injustice. The law is the law. But the law can be bent.”

Pelliccia’s attorney, Richard Behrens, said his office has been deluged with calls from people outraged that his client is being sought by authorities after decades of leading a quiet life in Newhall, where neighbors praised him as a friendly, helpful and honest man.

“Maybe the petition drive will bring some reality into the situation that the case doesn’t belong in the judicial system and that it’s inappropriate to pursue him after all these years,” Behrens said. “The people of this state think this is absolutely ridiculous. It cries out for some sense of fair play.”

Pelliccia, who retired from the studio three months ago, was arrested Tuesday at his Newhall home by Los Angeles police. His name had come up during a police investigation unrelated to him, but a computer check showed that, after 41 years, he is still a fugitive from Virginia.

Pelliccia escaped from a South Hill, Va., road camp in 1946 after serving four months of a 10-year sentence for burglary. Although he later served time for a similar offense in Rhode Island, he moved to Southern California in 1959 and led a model life thereafter.

Now, he is sitting in the Los Angeles County Jail awaiting a formal extradition request from Virginia authorities, who say they have no choice but to call him back to face the rest of his jail term. His extradition hearing is scheduled Sept. 4.

“He owes Virginia some time,” Richmond Commonwealth Atty. Aubrey Davis said. How much more of his sentence Pelliccia will have to serve will be settled once he is returned to Virginia, Davis said.

“Unless the governor grants him a pardon, he still has a criminal charge of escape,” Davis said.

If an earlier case is a guide, a pardon from Baliles is a possibility. In November, the governor granted a conditional pardon to a 72-year-old retired construction worker who, like Pelliccia, had escaped from a chain gang decades earlier.

That man, Thomas Moore, had also maintained a clean record during the 28 years he was free. His freedom ended a year ago when he was arrested by Norfolk, Va., police after his wife accused him of assault. That case was dismissed.

Moore, who has a heart condition, spent the next 2 1/2 months in the medical wing of a Virginia prison before Baliles pardoned him.

With six convictions on his record, Moore was sentenced to 20 years for stealing about $130 from pay telephones, but served only 11 months, said Wayne Farrar, public information officer for the Virginia Corrections Department.

Like Pelliccia, Moore did not hide. He used his real name and collected Social Security benefits.

Precedent for Pardon

Despite growing support for pardoning Pelliccia and the similarity of his case to Moore’s, Virginia authorities would not speculate this week on the Newhall resident’s chances.

“Each person is different,” said Jennifer Mullins, a spokeswoman for Baliles’ office. “There is no trend in pardons.” She said the governor is aware of the case but has no comment.

Behrens said his client’s case is at a standstill until Virginia authorities complete the required paper work, which could take two weeks. He said Virginia authorities have told him he can’t request a pardon for Pelliccia until his client returns to that state.

Meanwhile, Pelliccia has no choice but to sit in jail. A Los Angeles municipal judge refused to release him on bond Wednesday, citing a law that prohibits bail in escape cases.

Behrens said his client is still in “shock” over his arrest. Pelliccia, who had kept his past a secret from his children and friends, has declined to discuss it.

“I think this is absolutely an appropriate situation for a little judicial discretion,” Behrens said. “I’m not condoning what happened 40 years ago, but if rehabilitation means anything, he’s rehabilitated himself.”