Pilot in Italian Gondola Tragedy Freed
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JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A Marine pilot who was flying the plane that sheared a gondola cable and sent 20 people to their deaths in the Italian Alps has been freed from prison after five months, a friend said Monday.
In a case that damaged U.S. relations with Italy, Capt. Richard Ashby was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide in the Feb. 3, 1998, tragedy but was convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer because he removed a personal videotape from the plane to hide evidence.
Ashby, of Mission Viejo, Calif., was sentenced to six months in prison in May, was released earlier this month for good behavior after serving five months of his sentence.
Capt. Joseph Schweitzer, the navigator on the flight, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice for destroying the videotape.
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