DA: Long sought Southie fugitive nabbed

No, not who you're thinking. The Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports that Elias Efremedis was recently arrested in Virginia, 21 years after he fled Massachusetts on a coke-distribution charge here.

Efremedis was caught through his own dumb luck, according to the Northern Virginia Daily. The paper reports that he was originally arrested for shining a laser pointer at a police cruiser, which is a misdemeanor. But that led to an investigation of his background, which led Front Royal, Va. officers to his Boston warrant - and when they found that, they notified officials up here, who asked for him to be held until he could be rendited back here.

Efremidis, formerly of South Boston, had been arrested on Feb. 21, 1988, after authorities say they found some two kilograms of coke in a room he'd taken at the Suisse Chalet in Dorchester. The DA's office says prosecutors at the time asked for bail to be set at $500,000, but a Dorchester District Court judge set it at just $25,000 and Efremidis promptly disappeared. In a statement, DA Dan Conley said:

Access to large amounts of cash shouldn't allow a defendant to escape justice. Men and women of modest means appear in court to face the music every day - this suspect should be no different because of his wealth.

According to the Virginia newspaper, Efremidis had made a life for himself as a restaurant manager.