FUGITIVE NEARLY FINISHED HIS TIME IN U.S. JAIL

The bizarre ordeal of Allen Richardson is drawing to a close.

The West Vancouver man will be released March 24 from jail in New York,
where he was forced to return to serve more time relating to a 1971
sentence for selling $20 worth of LSD to an undercover cop.

Richardson, 50, had waged a long campaign to serve out the remainder of his
jail time in B.C.

In his defence, he pointed to his trouble-free life in Canada, volunteering
in the community and working as a technician at UBC's Triumf laboratory.

Richardson fled from jail in September, 1971 after serving only three
months of a four-year term and was a fugitive from U.S. justice for more
than 30 years.

Richardson, a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology at the time
of his arrest, will have served a total of a year behind bars when he is
released.

Richardson also wished to stay in Canada to care for his ill wife, Amalia,
who is suffering from breast cancer.