Three Puerto Rican nationalists promised to appeal their cases after receiving maximum prison sentences of up to 15 years for participating in the $7.1 million Wells Fargo robbery in 1983.
U.S. District Judge T. Emmet Clarie agreed to release one of the three men, Roberto Maldonado Rivera, on $200,000 bond pending his appeal of a conspiracy conviction.The judge acknowledged that grounds exist for an appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and expressed concern about Mal-donado's high blood pressure.
"I'm very happy that I can go back home," a jubilant Maldonado said outside the courtroom.
Maldonado, a 53-year-old civil rights attorney, was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $100,000.
The stiffest sentence went to Antonio Camacho Negron, a 45-year-old auto mechanic. He received a 15-year prison term and a $150,000 fine for conspiracy and assisting in the transfer of some of the stolen cash to Mexico.