Inmate claims he had to escape to get medical care

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A prisoner with Mafia ties claims he escaped because he can't get the medical treatment he needs.

Derek A. Capozzi says he has had heart problems ever since he was stabbed by another inmate in 2008.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Malloy says when Capozzi was on the lam for several days in Kentucky in 2010, he did not seek any treatment.

Capozzi is set to appear Monday before a federal judge in Lexington on an escape charge. The judge has rejected his request to put up a defense that his escape was medically necessary.

Capozzi is serving 55 years for his role in the 1996 killing and dismemberment of a 19-year-old woman in Massachusetts. Prosecutors say she was ordered killed by the leader of the Mafia-affiliated gang Capozzi belonged to.