‘The Most Wanted’ : FBI’s List Gets a New Burst of Attention in Light of TV Show

Pedro (The Pistol) Estrada never shot to the top as a pro fighter. But he did win a notorious distinction among tough guys--a spot on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted” list.

The FBI put Estrada on the list April 15 in an effort to obtain public assistance in finding the once-promising middleweight turned suspected drug-ring hit man and elusive fugitive.

Estrada, 24, sought for five murders in New York City in 1986, is the newest “Top Tenner.” Others include two suspected cop killers, a pair of reputed terrorists, a former security guard charged with the robbery of $7 million and an ex-restaurateur accused of murdering a competitor.

Since its inception four decades ago, the FBI’s Most Wanted list has changed with the times: from bank robbers and car thieves to revolutionaries to drug kingpins.

Too Much Pressure

“As demented as it might seem, a few guys seem to take a certain pride in making the Most Wanted list,” said FBI spokesman Milt Ahlerich. “For the most part, though, they don’t want the publicity. Some find the pressure too much.”

“Top Tenners” are the focus of nationwide publicity campaigns and dragnets. Mug shots are posted in public buildings, press releases are sent to newspapers and all 59 FBI field offices are put on alert.

Among those who have made the list in the past are radical Angela Davis and serial killer Theodore Bundy. James Earl Ray made it twice: in 1968 when he killed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and in 1977 when he escaped from prison.

The “10 Most Wanted Fugitives” program dates back to 1949 when a reporter asked the FBI for the names and descriptions of the “toughest guys” the bureau would like to capture.

Hoover Started List

The resulting story by Sam Fogg, a reporter with International News Service, generated a crush of publicity and prompted FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to draw up a Most Wanted ranking in 1950.

Since then, 416 fugitives have made the lineup. To date, 390 have been found, including five who were killed in shoot-outs and three who commited suicide.

Initially, the Most Wanted list was popularized in Hollywood movies and received heavy media attention. Now, after a lull, it is getting a new burst of attention due, in large part, to television.

Fox TV’s “America’s Most Wanted” show, which first aired Feb. 7, puts a spotlight on “Top Tenners” and other fugitives.

Four Crooks Arrested

It’s credited with helping arrest at least four, one a “Top Tenner”--David Roberts, a convicted killer. He escaped from prison in 1986 and was recaptured last February in New York, four days after being featured on Fox’s first show.

Another “Top Tenner,” Danny Weeks, 34, was arrested in Seattle March 21, two weeks after being shown on the program. The FBI says, however, that its own investigation resulted in this killer’s apprehension.

These two arrests, along with the March 16 apprehension in Los Angeles of suspected killer James Dyess, has temporarily reduced the number of “Top Tenners” to seven. The FBI is preparing to add three new ones.

To get on the list a fugitive must have a long criminal record or be considered highly dangerous. Also, the FBI must believe publicity can help nab him.

Left Boxing Ring

Estrada made the grade.

Just a few years ago, he was a respected boxer. He posted 48 knockouts as an amateur and eight straight wins as a pro. Then, in 1984, he was knocked out in a bout in Madison Square Garden and, authorities believe, left the boxing ring for a drug ring.

Estrada is wanted for three crack-related murders in Bronx, N.Y., in June, 1986, and is sought for questioning in a double murder in Brooklyn two months later.

Other current “Top Tenners” include:

- Ted Jeffrey Otsuki, a convicted bank robber charged with killing one policeman and wounding another during a 1987 shoot-out in Boston.

- Donald Webb, 56, a master of disguise and a jewel thief, sought for the 1980 slaying of the police chief of Saxonburg, Pa.

- Claude Marks, 39, and Donna Wilmott, 38, reputed associates of the Fuerzas Armada de Liberacion Nacional, a Puerto Rican nationalist group that has claimed responsibility for numerous bombings; they are accused of trying to help a fellow FALN member escape from the federal prison at Leavenworth, Kan., in 1986.

- Victor Gerena, 25, a former security guard, wanted for the 1983 armed robbery of $7 million from a security company in West Hartford, Conn.

- Leo Koury, 52, accused of ordering the murder of an employee of a rival restaurant in Richmond, Va., in 1975; he is also charged with armed robbery and attempted kidnaping. He has seniority among current “Top Tenners,” having been on the list for 9 years.

FBI statistics show that among those apprehended, their average time on the list was 157 days. The average distance from their crime to their apprehension was nearly 1,000 miles.

The bureau notes that the makeup of the “Top 10” has changed over the years, going from bank robbers and car thieves in the 1950s, to revolutionaries in the 1960s, to terrorists and organized crime figures in the 1970s and 1980s.