2 Americans Arrested Over Ghosn Escape

Ex-Green Beret, son face extradition to Japan
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 20, 2020 12:22 PM CDT
2 Americans Arrested Over Ghosn Escape
In this Jan. 10, 2020 photo, former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn speaks to Japanese media during an interview in Beirut.   (Meika Fujio/Kyodo News via AP, File)

A former Green Beret and his son have been arrested in Massachusetts in connection with former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan—and prosecutors say it would be a very bad idea to release Michael and Peter Taylor on bail during extradition proceedings. "Michael Taylor is not just capable of fleeing while on bond—he is an expert in the subject,” prosecutors said in a court filing, per Bloomberg. "The plot to spirit Ghosn out of Japan was one of the most brazen and well-orchestrated escape acts in recent history, involving a dizzying array of hotel meetups, bullet train travel, fake personas, and the chartering of a private jet." The two men are wanted by Japanese officials.

Michael Taylor, 59, and Peter Taylor, his 27-year-old son, were arrested Wednesday morning by the US Marshals Service Special Operations Group, NBC News reports. Prosecutors said the younger Taylor had been planning to take a flight Wednesday from Boston to Beirut, where Ghosn has been holed up since he jumped bail in Japan. According to court papers, Michael Taylor and another suspect, George-Antoine Zayek, allegedly exploited an airport security flaw and smuggled Ghosn onto a plane in a box meant for concert equipment last December, the AP reports. Peter Taylor allegedly met with Ghosn seven times in the months before the escape. (More Carlos Ghosn stories.)

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