The seemingly quiet life of a one-time domestic terrorist and former FBI's Most Wanted fugitive came to an abrupt end in Palm Beach Gardens. Richard Picariello, whose militant actions in the 1970s once placed him at #343 on the FBI's most infamous list, was arrested in connection with a drug operation at the Inn of America motel, as reported by CBS12. Picariello, now in his seventies, was allegedly present during a search that uncovered narcotics and paraphernalia in room 204.
This arrest, however, marks an unexpected re-emergence of Picariello, who had apparently avoided the law's scrutiny since his parole in 1995, according to WPBF 25 News. Since moving to Palm Beach County, court records suggested that he had been living a quiet life until his arrest this month. Picariello's radical past involved leading the Fred Hampton Unit of People's Forces, a group behind a series of bombings targeting government buildings, in protest of systemic injustice and police violence during the 70s.
The investigation at the Palm Beach Gardens motel began as a surveillance operation of suspected narcotics activity. The actions of Picariello during the drug operation are still under investigation, while all suspects found at the motel, including Picariello, were processed and transferred to the Palm Beach County Jail last Sunday, Sept. 21. They are awaiting court proceedings, according to the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department.
Back in his days of political defiance, Picariello was implicated in the Independence Day Bombings of 1976, a series of explosives set off in New England. WPBF's sister station, WCVB, reported on these events where a jetliner, a courthouse, and a National Guard truck were targeted over a July weekend, though, fortunately, no one was injured. Subsequent court records detailed Picariello's later arrest and the crimes linked to him, including an interstate transportation of explosives for which a federal jury found him guilty in 1977. Now facing charges of tampering with evidence and possession of cocaine, Picariello failed to appear at his court date, leading to an arrest warrant filed against him.
