Italian fugitive escapes Buenos Aires house arrest using fake ankle monitor

Leonardo Bertulazzi, a 74-year-old Italian and former member of the Red Brigades, escaped house arrest in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night. He removed his electronic ankle monitor from his fifth-floor apartment on Defensa Street in San Telmo and climbed down using ropes and a harness.

To fool the monitoring system, Bertulazzi wrapped a piece of pork meat around a metal tube, attached a tensiometer, and placed the device inside the ankle monitor. A heated blanket kept the contraption warm so it appeared his leg was still inside.

“He wrapped a piece of pork meat around a metal tube, attached a tensiometer, and put the contraption inside the ankle monitor, covering everything with a heated blanket to keep the temperature.”

Bertulazzi was awaiting extradition to Italy to serve a 27-year prison sentence. He was convicted in absentia in 1985 for the 1977 kidnapping of businessman Pietro Costa, unlawful association, and possession and use of war weapons.

The Red Brigades, a disbanded Marxist-Leninist armed group, operated in Italy during the 1970s and 1980s and was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978.

Bertulazzi had lived in Concepcion del Uruguay in Entre Ríos while holding refugee status in Argentina. Authorities believe he may have returned to that province and have reinforced controls there.

The National Security Ministry offered a reward of 20 million pesos for information leading to his capture. The measure was formalized through Resolution 1168/2026 at the request of Federal Criminal Court Number 1, led by Maria Romilda Servini.

CCTV footage shows Bertulazzi falling to the ground after climbing a wall, getting up, waiting on the sidewalk, and walking away.