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Accused Pilots Won't Return to Brazil
By FRANK ELTMAN (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
August 23, 2007 2:02 PM EDT

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - Two American pilots facing criminal charges after their executive jet collided with a commercial airliner over the Amazon are willing to testify, but won't return to Brazil to do so, their lawyer said Thursday.

"They are innocent of any crime, but are completely willing and eager to tell their story," said Joel R. Weiss. "We are going to tell our story according to international treaty."

Pilots Joseph Lepore of Bay Shore and Jan Paladino of Westhampton Beach were indicted in Brazil in June along with four Brazilian air traffic controllers. The pilots are accused of turning off the transponder on their Embraer Legacy 600 jet before it collided at 37,000 feet with a Boeing 737 operated by Gol airlines last September.

All 154 people aboard the jetliner were killed; none of the seven people aboard the smaller jet, owned by ExcelAire of Ronkonkoma, was injured.

The pilots deny turning off the transponder and say they were flying at an altitude designated by the air controllers. If convicted, they could face up to three years in prison.

A federal judge in Brazil issued a subpoena last month for the pilots to testify at a court proceeding next Monday, but Weiss said their Brazilian defense attorney will tell the court they have declined to return to Brazil.

Weiss cited the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, which he said would allow the pilots to testify about the case from their home country.

He said the pilots could offer depositions, be interviewed by Brazilian authorities in the United States, or testify by video conference or other electronic means. Besides the treaty, he said, current Brazilian law allows testimony from remote locations.

"This accident occurred in the context of tremendous chaos in the Brazilian air safety system and had nothing to with Joe Lepore or Jan Paladino," the attorney said.

The pilots were detained in Brazil for more than two months following the crash, then returned to Long Island in December. Weiss, who said the men are still working as pilots, declined to comment on whether the previous detention had anything to do with their refusal to return to Brazil.

I cannot blame them.
Third world countries without the English common law system tend to assess guilt in criminal matters like this on the basis of popular opinion rather than law.
It happens all the time.

_________________
PacoLoco: "You pay for it one way or another."
Ace: "Rent everything, do not buy in Costa Rica"

Agreed with Ace: I don't blame them for declining to return to Brazil.

Does anybody actually believe that they would receive a fair trial in Brazil? A jury of Brazilians listening to these arrogant Americans who by their carelessness and indifference killed 154 of their countrymen. PLEASE!