NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The FBI captured one of its Ten Most Wanted fugitives Monday at the shipyard of a major defense contractor following tips generated by a television show, officials said.
Wardell David Ford, 34, was wanted on charges of murder and armed robbery following a 1983 robbery of an armored car at a Montgomery Ward in Detroit, said Jack Breslin of Fox Broadcasting's 'America's Most Wanted' television show.
FBI agent Richard Farley confirmed Ford's arrest at the General Dynamics Corp.'s Electric Boat Division shipyard, but withheld other details pending a Tuesday news conference in Hartford.
Breslin said a segment of the television show aired Sept. 7 recreated the crime, which generated tips over the weekend from the New London area.
'People were saying he worked as a laborer on the docks at Electric Boat,' said Breslin.
Electric Boat is the Navy's prime builder of nuclear submarines.
FBI agents went to the New London facility Monday and reviewed Ford's job application and analyzed his handwriting, Breslin said.
The suspect was then summoned by company security, where FBI agents took his fingerprints, Breslin said.
'It was a match, and he was arrested,' he said.
Ford was taken to state police barracks in Montvale pending his arraignment Tuesday, Breslin said. State police declined to confirm where Ford was being held, and referred calls to the FBI.
Farley said the Fox show, which recreates crimes, was 'a terrific program.'
'They've been really, really helpful to us,' Farley said.
Ford's arrest was the 119th capture resulting from tips generated by the show, and the eighth from the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, said Breslin.
