An elderly millionaire locked up on child pornography charges and his squad of goons were allegedly caught cooking up a plan to break him out of a Florida jail and jet him off to his castle in France, police said.
John Manchec, 78, is accused of enlisting other inmates and friends from the outside to assault Indian River County Jail officers before rushing him off on a private jet, the county’s Sheriff Eric Flowers announced Monday.
“This is a real deal. This guy’s been charged with child pornography. He’s in our jail. He’s trying to escape. He thinks he’s going to have these guys attack our corrections folks,” Flowers said.
“Fortunately, our detectives and our team were able to intercept this and they did a fantastic job. And because of it, they’re all facing additional charges.”
The escape plot centered on an April 12 medical appointment.
Manchec — who was arrested in 2014 on 49 counts of possession of child pornography but fled to France until his capture in 2020 — would attend the scheduled visit while his lackeys would “plan to intercept” the Corrections transport vehicle at the outside medical facility, according to police.
His cellmate, Byron Harvey, and another unnamed accomplice were allegedly stationed to attack the Corrections Deputies with pepper spray before freeing Manchec and taking him to an undisclosed location.
The Aero Shade company owner had allegedly hired multiple vehicles to facilitate the escape and take him to his private airport near the Fort Pierce Regional Airport, where he would then flee to his medieval estate in southern France, the Chateau Pechrigal.
Manchec’s footmen also prepared his 140-foot yacht for the grand plan, police allege. Manchec even paid Harvey’s bail and then allowed them to live in his home in exchange for packing Manchec’s suitcase and ordering his favorite liquor, the sheriff said.
Manchec, who has dual citizenship in France and the US, is accused of putting the four accomplices on his company payroll in the leadup to the breakout — until one tipped deputies off two months before its execution.
Investigators began listening into Manchec’s jailhouse phone calls and discovered he used the code word “paint job” while talking with his employees about the plot.
Flowers said the plan was to go “back to his castle in France” and never have to face the charges.
It’s not the first time Manchec has tried to elude authorities over the crime.
He posted a nearly $500,000 bond following his 2014 arrest and escaped to his French castle in Saint-Clair.
France denied US attempts to extradite him, but he was eventually arrested while visiting his third home in the Dominican Republic in 2020 and returned to Florida.
Manchec requested permission to leave the jail in January by claiming he suffered from chronic medical conditions, and because he broke his hip and wrist late last year, Flowers said.
The request was denied.
With Post Wires