A Walter Mitty character who is on trial for two rapes in America has finally admitted he used an alias while in Scotland.
US fugitive Nicholas Rossi, 37, tried to convince a court that he was Arthur Knight as he fought extradition from Scotland, claiming to be the victim of mistaken identity.
He admitted for the first time that he and the alias Arthur Knight are the same person.
Giving evidence at a bail hearing in one of two separate rape cases he faces in Utah, Rossi denied fleeing to the UK in 2017 to escape arrest.
Speaking with an American accent, he told the court he had left the country and later claimed to be Irish orphan Arthur Knight in order to escape threats.
Rossi was extradited to the US at the start of this year despite his claim that he had never been to America.
His identity came to light when he was treated for Covid-19 at a hospital in Glasgow in December 2021.
Staff recognised his tattoos – images of which had been circulated by Interpol – and he was arrested.
During a two-year legal process he denied he was Rossi, continuing to insist his name was Arthur Knight and that he was the victim of mistaken identity.
He explained away the tattoos, saying they must have been done while he was unconscious in hospital.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance signed an order granting Rossi’s extradition in September 2023, and he was flown back to America in January.
During the latest hearing, he was claimed he fled the country after his life was threatened by elected officials in Rhode Island.
Asked to identify the people he claims threatened to kill him and his family, Rossi refused, telling the state prosecutor: “I don’t want to give a mouse cheese.”
Rossi’s request for bail was denied after the judge ruled there was “clear and convincing” evidence that, if granted, he would attempt to flee.
He is accused of raping a woman aged 26 in Salt Lake County, Utah, in 2008.
While on trial, it was revealed in August that he faced a second rape charge after DNA that matched his was found on another alleged victim.
Not guilty pleas were entered by his lawyer ahead of a further hearing in two weeks time.
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