1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:02,960 {\an1}- A brilliant safecracker... 2 00:00:03,085 --> 00:00:04,876 {\an1}- He spoke five languages. 3 00:00:05,001 --> 00:00:06,710 {\an1}- Locked up in a dangerous prison 4 00:00:06,793 --> 00:00:09,376 {\an1}nicknamed "The Wall." 5 00:00:09,460 --> 00:00:11,418 {\an1}- It was only a matter of time until I either got killed, 6 00:00:11,543 --> 00:00:12,460 {\an1}or killed somebody. 7 00:00:12,585 --> 00:00:15,793 {\an1}- Hand picks a team of five hardened convicts. 8 00:00:15,918 --> 00:00:18,626 {\an1}- There was certainly a risk to add additional members. 9 00:00:18,751 --> 00:00:20,460 {\an1}- To tunnel out of the prison. 10 00:00:20,585 --> 00:00:22,793 {\an1}- If the tunnel was collapsing, that would shut off 11 00:00:22,918 --> 00:00:24,918 {\an1}the air supply. 12 00:00:25,043 --> 00:00:26,710 {\an1}- And make their way to freedom. 13 00:00:26,835 --> 00:00:27,960 {\an1}[dramatic music] 14 00:00:28,085 --> 00:00:30,043 {\an1}- If they was found out digging that tunnel, 15 00:00:30,126 --> 00:00:31,710 {\an1}they would have went to the Hole for a lot of years. 16 00:00:31,835 --> 00:00:38,710 {\an1}♪ ♪ 17 00:00:41,168 --> 00:00:43,876 {\an1}[exciting music] 18 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:46,710 {\an1}- Some of the greatest stories ever told 19 00:00:46,876 --> 00:00:50,210 {\an1}start behind bars. 20 00:00:50,376 --> 00:00:52,376 {\an1}Locked up in the most notorious prisons 21 00:00:52,460 --> 00:00:56,043 {\an1}in the world, spied on by guards 22 00:00:56,126 --> 00:00:58,543 {\an1}and fellow prisoners, 23 00:00:58,668 --> 00:01:04,085 {\an1}it takes a devious mind to find a way out. 24 00:01:04,210 --> 00:01:06,501 {\an1}It could lead you to freedom, 25 00:01:06,626 --> 00:01:09,418 {\an1}or it could cost you your life. 26 00:01:09,543 --> 00:01:10,918 {\an1}♪ ♪ 27 00:01:11,043 --> 00:01:13,376 {\an1}But wouldn't you try 28 00:01:13,501 --> 00:01:15,001 {\an1}when you have nothing left to lose? 29 00:01:15,126 --> 00:01:22,001 {\an1}♪ ♪ 30 00:01:22,085 --> 00:01:27,668 {\an1}[dramatic music] 31 00:01:27,751 --> 00:01:29,960 {\an1}- Western Penitentiary, 32 00:01:30,085 --> 00:01:32,668 {\an1}Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 33 00:01:32,751 --> 00:01:37,376 {\an1}Freezing cold in winter, boiling hot in summer. 34 00:01:37,460 --> 00:01:40,543 {\an1}Sometimes it floods here too. 35 00:01:40,626 --> 00:01:44,460 {\an1}It's one of the oldest prisons in America. 36 00:01:44,585 --> 00:01:49,043 {\an1}Back in 1882, its amenities were cutting edge; 37 00:01:49,168 --> 00:01:52,710 {\an1}running water, electricity, and common spaces 38 00:01:52,835 --> 00:01:55,293 {\an1}for prisoners to congregate. 39 00:01:55,418 --> 00:01:58,210 {\an1}But what began as an enlightened experiment 40 00:01:58,335 --> 00:02:02,710 {\an1}in criminal reform became a living hell. 41 00:02:02,876 --> 00:02:09,043 {\an1}By 1996, it was overcrowded and in disrepair. 42 00:02:09,126 --> 00:02:11,335 {\an1}♪ ♪ 43 00:02:11,460 --> 00:02:16,710 {\an1}The one thing that never changed is its nickname, 44 00:02:16,835 --> 00:02:18,043 {\an1}"the Wall." 45 00:02:18,210 --> 00:02:23,460 {\an1}♪ ♪ 46 00:02:23,585 --> 00:02:26,126 {\an1}- The walls of Western State Penitentiary 47 00:02:26,251 --> 00:02:30,210 {\an1}are very large, very forbidding, 48 00:02:30,293 --> 00:02:36,376 {\an1}very fortress-like, massive stone and concrete walls. 49 00:02:36,460 --> 00:02:38,710 {\an1}They're 25 feet tall. 50 00:02:38,835 --> 00:02:41,376 {\an1}They also run underground. 51 00:02:41,501 --> 00:02:44,585 {\an1}- Your security perimeter, that's level one 52 00:02:44,710 --> 00:02:46,793 {\an1}to deter escapes. 53 00:02:46,918 --> 00:02:50,668 {\an1}Then, inside the perimeter, your gates, 54 00:02:50,751 --> 00:02:52,335 {\an1}doors on the cellblocks, 55 00:02:52,418 --> 00:02:55,085 {\an1}all those things that deter inmate movement 56 00:02:55,251 --> 00:02:58,793 {\an1}are part of the system that keeps people in. 57 00:02:58,918 --> 00:03:03,210 {\an1}- Where most people see a series of impossible obstacles, 58 00:03:03,335 --> 00:03:06,543 {\an1}one man sees a puzzle to be solved. 59 00:03:06,710 --> 00:03:13,251 {\an1}♪ ♪ 60 00:03:13,376 --> 00:03:16,460 {\an1}He's never told his story on camera 61 00:03:16,585 --> 00:03:17,626 {\an1}until now. 62 00:03:17,751 --> 00:03:23,710 {\an1}♪ ♪ 63 00:03:23,835 --> 00:03:26,918 {\an1}- The reason why I don't want my face seen is because 64 00:03:27,043 --> 00:03:31,501 {\an1}I'd like to have the option of choosing who I let know. 65 00:03:31,585 --> 00:03:33,751 {\an1}The fact is, that once you get that label 66 00:03:33,876 --> 00:03:37,543 {\an1}of criminal, that can lead to discrimination. 67 00:03:37,626 --> 00:03:40,710 {\an1}- By 1996, Nuno Pontes is serving 68 00:03:40,835 --> 00:03:44,043 {\an1}a 10- to 24-year sentence for safecracking. 69 00:03:44,168 --> 00:03:45,918 {\an1}♪ ♪ 70 00:03:46,043 --> 00:03:47,168 {\an1}He's a Robin Hood, 71 00:03:47,251 --> 00:03:50,335 {\an1}stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, 72 00:03:50,418 --> 00:03:52,460 {\an1}as well as to himself. 73 00:03:52,585 --> 00:03:56,876 {\an1}Over the last decade, he has been in and out of prison. 74 00:03:57,001 --> 00:03:59,751 {\an1}He's been at Western Pen for the past four years, 75 00:03:59,876 --> 00:04:01,585 {\an1}and, for the first time, 76 00:04:01,710 --> 00:04:06,168 {\an1}he just happens to have a cellmate he can trust. 77 00:04:06,293 --> 00:04:12,585 {\an1}♪ ♪ 78 00:04:12,710 --> 00:04:16,043 {\an1}- I became cellmates with Nuno in '96, 79 00:04:16,125 --> 00:04:17,793 {\an1}or end of '95. 80 00:04:17,918 --> 00:04:19,875 {\an1}I call Nuno, "Nick." 81 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,543 {\an1}He's articulate, passionate, he's brave. 82 00:04:23,710 --> 00:04:26,168 {\an1}He believes what he says, and he backs it up. 83 00:04:26,250 --> 00:04:28,875 {\an1}Those dudes are a rare breed. 84 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,460 {\an1}♪ ♪ 85 00:04:31,585 --> 00:04:33,960 {\an1}- Because of my nature, I had been thinking 86 00:04:34,085 --> 00:04:35,500 {\an1}about escaping all along. 87 00:04:35,585 --> 00:04:37,543 {\an1}There was nothing positive to do, 88 00:04:37,668 --> 00:04:40,750 {\an1}and the penitentiary was just too dangerous. 89 00:04:40,875 --> 00:04:42,625 {\an1}- It was definitely a dangerous place. 90 00:04:42,750 --> 00:04:45,500 {\an1}One time, I saw three guys were stabbing this other guy. 91 00:04:45,625 --> 00:04:47,293 {\an1}I don't know what it was about, I don't want to know 92 00:04:47,418 --> 00:04:50,418 {\an1}what it was about. He ended up dying. 93 00:04:50,543 --> 00:04:52,210 {\an1}Raises the stakes is what it does. 94 00:04:52,375 --> 00:04:54,668 {\an1}♪ ♪ 95 00:04:54,793 --> 00:04:57,210 {\an1}- It was only a matter of time until I either got killed, 96 00:04:57,335 --> 00:04:58,875 {\an1}or killed somebody out of necessity. 97 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,126 {\an1}And either one of those was an unacceptable option, 98 00:05:02,251 --> 00:05:03,543 {\an1}so I decided to leave. 99 00:05:03,710 --> 00:05:10,418 {\an1}♪ ♪ 100 00:05:10,543 --> 00:05:12,335 {\an1}- Nuno begins brainstorming 101 00:05:12,418 --> 00:05:14,710 {\an1}with his cellmate about how someone could escape 102 00:05:14,793 --> 00:05:16,668 {\an1}the prison. 103 00:05:16,793 --> 00:05:19,375 {\an1}- The first option that I considered was 104 00:05:19,460 --> 00:05:21,750 {\an1}actually bringing the wall down. 105 00:05:21,875 --> 00:05:24,543 {\an1}That was abandoned because they would have known right away 106 00:05:24,625 --> 00:05:26,125 {\an1}that there was a mistake. 107 00:05:26,250 --> 00:05:27,460 {\an1}- Their next idea 108 00:05:27,585 --> 00:05:30,210 {\an1}is to hide in a construction truck, 109 00:05:30,375 --> 00:05:34,375 {\an1}but they soon realize that's a dead end. 110 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:36,543 {\an1}There's always a prisoner headcount 111 00:05:36,710 --> 00:05:38,625 {\an1}before any truck leaves the compound. 112 00:05:38,750 --> 00:05:39,750 {\an1}♪ ♪ 113 00:05:39,918 --> 00:05:41,210 {\an1}- Then we came to the third option, 114 00:05:41,293 --> 00:05:42,168 {\an1}which was a tunnel. 115 00:05:42,293 --> 00:05:43,500 {\an1}♪ ♪ 116 00:05:43,585 --> 00:05:45,543 {\an1}- Over the last hundred years, 117 00:05:45,710 --> 00:05:49,293 {\an1}many prisoners have attempted to escape this hellhole 118 00:05:49,418 --> 00:05:51,960 {\an1}by tunneling out. 119 00:05:52,085 --> 00:05:54,293 {\an1}But none have been successful. 120 00:05:54,418 --> 00:05:56,625 {\an1}Not yet. 121 00:05:56,750 --> 00:06:01,793 {\an1}Nuno thinks he can succeed, but he can't do it alone. 122 00:06:01,918 --> 00:06:04,376 {\an1}He has no experience tunneling, 123 00:06:04,501 --> 00:06:06,418 {\an1}and neither does his cellmate. 124 00:06:06,543 --> 00:06:09,126 {\an1}- That's when Arizona became interesting, I think. 125 00:06:09,251 --> 00:06:10,960 {\an1}Billingsley's nickname was Arizona 126 00:06:11,085 --> 00:06:12,626 {\an1}because he was from Arizona. 127 00:06:14,793 --> 00:06:17,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 128 00:06:17,668 --> 00:06:19,875 {\an1}- Kevin Billingsley is serving 129 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:23,668 {\an1}a 23 1/2- to 77-year sentence for several charges, 130 00:06:23,750 --> 00:06:26,835 {\an1}including robbery and assault. 131 00:06:26,918 --> 00:06:27,875 {\an1}[siren wails] 132 00:06:28,043 --> 00:06:32,125 {\an1}And he has skills Nuno needs to dig a tunnel. 133 00:06:32,250 --> 00:06:34,750 {\an1}- I meet Kevin Billingsley through an old convict. 134 00:06:34,875 --> 00:06:37,710 {\an1}I made introductions because Kevin also was 135 00:06:37,835 --> 00:06:40,085 {\an1}pursuing the idea of an escape. 136 00:06:40,210 --> 00:06:41,375 {\an1}[rattling] 137 00:06:41,460 --> 00:06:44,043 {\an1}Kevin had, actually, some mining experience, 138 00:06:44,168 --> 00:06:45,210 {\an1}but he was very skeptical. 139 00:06:45,335 --> 00:06:48,125 {\an1}And my idea was, we'll just break the process down 140 00:06:48,250 --> 00:06:49,293 {\an1}into stages. 141 00:06:49,418 --> 00:06:51,375 {\an1}We'll tackle one stage at a time. 142 00:06:51,500 --> 00:06:54,250 {\an1}- With Kevin Billingsley onboard, 143 00:06:54,375 --> 00:06:58,043 {\an1}the next step is to determine where the three of them 144 00:06:58,125 --> 00:07:00,000 {\an1}should dig. 145 00:07:00,085 --> 00:07:02,626 {\an1}The only way to do that is to get jobs 146 00:07:02,751 --> 00:07:04,751 {\an1}that will give them more access 147 00:07:04,876 --> 00:07:08,210 {\an1}and knowledge of the prison's layout. 148 00:07:08,335 --> 00:07:12,460 {\an1}♪ ♪ 149 00:07:12,585 --> 00:07:15,376 {\an1}Nuno Pontes sets his sights on working 150 00:07:15,460 --> 00:07:16,375 {\an1}with the prison engineer 151 00:07:16,500 --> 00:07:19,375 {\an1}in the prison's maintenance office. 152 00:07:19,460 --> 00:07:22,210 {\an1}- The prison engineer is a critical person. 153 00:07:22,375 --> 00:07:26,918 {\an1}He or she was responsible for the plumbing, the sewage, 154 00:07:27,085 --> 00:07:29,460 {\an1}the electrical, the ventilation. 155 00:07:29,585 --> 00:07:33,293 {\an1}And his office was the repository 156 00:07:33,418 --> 00:07:36,375 {\an1}for all of the blueprints. 157 00:07:36,543 --> 00:07:43,460 {\an1}♪ ♪ 158 00:07:43,585 --> 00:07:45,625 {\an1}- With a job in maintenance, 159 00:07:45,750 --> 00:07:50,585 {\an1}Nuno now has an inside view of how this place works. 160 00:07:50,710 --> 00:07:53,418 {\an1}- I had access to all the maintenance issues. 161 00:07:53,543 --> 00:07:55,710 {\an1}Through that, I collected quite a bit of knowledge 162 00:07:55,793 --> 00:07:58,000 {\an1}about how the institution was set up. 163 00:07:58,085 --> 00:08:00,460 {\an1}[clock ticking] 164 00:08:00,585 --> 00:08:05,876 {\an1}♪ ♪ 165 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:08,835 {\an1}- And by a remarkable stroke of luck, 166 00:08:08,918 --> 00:08:11,585 {\an1}Nuno receives a request to fix a problem 167 00:08:11,710 --> 00:08:16,375 {\an1}in a warehouse just outside the prison perimeter. 168 00:08:16,460 --> 00:08:19,375 {\an1}This might be the place 169 00:08:19,500 --> 00:08:22,210 {\an1}where the tunnel could end. 170 00:08:22,335 --> 00:08:23,500 {\an1}♪ ♪ 171 00:08:23,585 --> 00:08:26,460 {\an1}- The institutional warehouse, it's function is 172 00:08:26,585 --> 00:08:30,375 {\an1}to control the movement of goods and products 173 00:08:30,460 --> 00:08:34,500 {\an1}into the prison from the street. 174 00:08:34,625 --> 00:08:36,835 {\an1}- Nuno knows that if they can find a way 175 00:08:36,918 --> 00:08:40,125 {\an1}into that warehouse, they can then walk 176 00:08:40,250 --> 00:08:41,210 {\an1}right onto the street. 177 00:08:41,335 --> 00:08:42,500 {\an1}♪ ♪ 178 00:08:42,625 --> 00:08:45,376 {\an1}It's the perfect exit point for their tunnel. 179 00:08:45,501 --> 00:08:47,001 {\an1}♪ ♪ 180 00:08:47,085 --> 00:08:50,835 {\an1}But he still needs to find where it should start, 181 00:08:50,918 --> 00:08:55,210 {\an1}a spot he and his co-escapees can access 182 00:08:55,293 --> 00:08:59,043 {\an1}away from the watchful eyes of the guards. 183 00:08:59,168 --> 00:09:02,710 {\an1}Nuno starts eyeing a secluded part of the maintenance shops 184 00:09:02,793 --> 00:09:07,751 {\an1}close to the warehouse on the other side of the wall. 185 00:09:07,876 --> 00:09:10,210 {\an1}- The maintenance office and the maintenance shops 186 00:09:10,293 --> 00:09:14,085 {\an1}are built just inside the perimeter wall. 187 00:09:14,210 --> 00:09:18,668 {\an1}They are close to opposite the institutional warehouse, 188 00:09:18,751 --> 00:09:21,626 {\an1}which is on the exterior of the wall. 189 00:09:21,751 --> 00:09:24,376 {\an1}- Nuno is eventually able to get his hands 190 00:09:24,501 --> 00:09:27,085 {\an1}on blueprints of the building. 191 00:09:27,210 --> 00:09:31,168 {\an1}Using these diagrams, he determines the perfect spot 192 00:09:31,251 --> 00:09:36,043 {\an1}to start digging the tunnel is this crawl space. 193 00:09:36,126 --> 00:09:39,543 {\an1}But the place is surrounded by impenetrable brick walls 194 00:09:39,668 --> 00:09:42,043 {\an1}and a steel door. 195 00:09:42,210 --> 00:09:46,168 {\an1}Somehow, they have to get past all this. 196 00:09:46,293 --> 00:09:49,918 {\an1}♪ ♪ 197 00:09:50,043 --> 00:09:53,168 {\an1}Thinking it over, something suddenly occurs to him. 198 00:09:53,251 --> 00:09:57,210 {\an1}He can access the crawl space if he can drill through 199 00:09:57,293 --> 00:10:00,210 {\an1}its exterior brick wall. 200 00:10:00,376 --> 00:10:03,126 {\an1}And he knows exactly the spot. 201 00:10:03,251 --> 00:10:06,543 {\an1}- So, to get through this wall that led to the crawl space, 202 00:10:06,668 --> 00:10:10,626 {\an1}I broke this overflow pipe for this steam tank. 203 00:10:10,751 --> 00:10:11,960 {\an1}And I told the maintenance guy, 204 00:10:12,085 --> 00:10:13,960 {\an1}I said, "Hey, there's this steam tank that's leaking, 205 00:10:14,085 --> 00:10:17,710 {\an1}but if you guys get me a hammer drill, I'll fix it." 206 00:10:17,835 --> 00:10:19,793 {\an1}So security came over and approved the job 207 00:10:19,918 --> 00:10:21,376 {\an1}and brought this hammer drill in. 208 00:10:21,501 --> 00:10:22,710 {\an1}They stood there with me. 209 00:10:22,876 --> 00:10:27,210 {\an1}I crawled under this platform, started drilling on the wall. 210 00:10:27,293 --> 00:10:28,376 {\an1}Of course, the guard now is talking, 211 00:10:28,501 --> 00:10:30,585 {\an1}so I would drill a little bit on this wall 212 00:10:30,710 --> 00:10:32,793 {\an1}and then go to the wall I actually wanted to go through, 213 00:10:32,918 --> 00:10:34,460 {\an1}and drill on that one. 214 00:10:34,585 --> 00:10:37,668 {\an1}- Nuno was attempting to access the crawl space 215 00:10:37,751 --> 00:10:42,210 {\an1}with a guard standing right next to him. 216 00:10:42,335 --> 00:10:43,460 {\an1}It's a bold plan. 217 00:10:43,585 --> 00:10:45,210 {\an1}[drill whines] 218 00:10:45,293 --> 00:10:48,960 {\an1}If the officer figures out what he's up to, 219 00:10:49,085 --> 00:10:52,251 {\an1}the plot to escape this dank and dangerous prison 220 00:10:52,376 --> 00:10:54,710 {\an1}will be over before it even begins. 221 00:10:54,835 --> 00:10:58,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 222 00:11:02,001 --> 00:11:05,085 {\an1}[dramatic music] 223 00:11:05,210 --> 00:11:07,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 224 00:11:07,668 --> 00:11:09,376 {\an1}- At Pittsburg's notorious 225 00:11:09,460 --> 00:11:14,585 {\an1}Western Penitentiary, Nuno Pontes is trying to drill 226 00:11:14,751 --> 00:11:18,876 {\an1}his way into an underground crawl space. 227 00:11:19,001 --> 00:11:21,585 {\an1}From there, he'll be able to tunnel 228 00:11:21,751 --> 00:11:23,876 {\an1}under the prison's impenetrable wall. 229 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:25,126 {\an1}[drill whines] 230 00:11:25,251 --> 00:11:29,751 {\an1}Right now, however, he's being watched closely. 231 00:11:29,918 --> 00:11:32,751 {\an1}But every time the guard looks away, 232 00:11:32,876 --> 00:11:37,168 {\an1}Nuno shifts his focus to the crawl space wall, 233 00:11:37,251 --> 00:11:42,335 {\an1}trying to break down the first barrier between him 234 00:11:42,418 --> 00:11:43,293 {\an1}and freedom. 235 00:11:43,418 --> 00:11:44,876 {\an1}[drill whines] 236 00:11:45,001 --> 00:11:46,210 {\an1}- It was just taking too long. 237 00:11:46,376 --> 00:11:48,710 {\an1}This drill didn't have enough oomph to get into that area 238 00:11:48,876 --> 00:11:53,126 {\an1}to dig. And then we abandoned that. 239 00:11:53,251 --> 00:11:55,293 {\an1}- Since he can't get into the crawl space 240 00:11:55,418 --> 00:11:58,460 {\an1}with a drill, Nuno Pontes, Kevin Billingsley, 241 00:11:58,585 --> 00:12:03,876 {\an1}and Greg Quiring are going to have to find another way. 242 00:12:04,043 --> 00:12:07,001 {\an1}- The second option was to make a key 243 00:12:07,126 --> 00:12:10,543 {\an1}and go through the actual doors that led to the crawl space. 244 00:12:10,668 --> 00:12:16,335 {\an1}♪ ♪ 245 00:12:16,460 --> 00:12:19,876 {\an1}- The three escapees need a key, 246 00:12:20,043 --> 00:12:23,085 {\an1}a key only the guards have, 247 00:12:23,210 --> 00:12:28,085 {\an1}and, somehow, they have to find a way to make a copy. 248 00:12:28,251 --> 00:12:29,626 {\an1}- Just weren't sure what we could use 249 00:12:29,751 --> 00:12:32,043 {\an1}that would hold the form of the key. 250 00:12:32,168 --> 00:12:33,710 {\an1}This has got to be a good print. 251 00:12:33,793 --> 00:12:37,210 {\an1}It's got to be both sides for this key to work. 252 00:12:37,293 --> 00:12:40,126 {\an1}- We experimented with various materials. 253 00:12:40,251 --> 00:12:42,835 {\an1}'Cause, obviously, we needed to get an imprint of the key. 254 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,168 {\an1}- I know we tried a bar of soap, 255 00:12:45,251 --> 00:12:50,335 {\an1}and then we did oatmeal, and then it was Styrofoam. 256 00:12:50,418 --> 00:12:53,376 {\an1}The Styrofoam really, you know, held a nice imprint. 257 00:12:53,501 --> 00:12:56,126 {\an1}- Once they get an impression of the key, 258 00:12:56,251 --> 00:12:59,501 {\an1}they can then transfer that to a piece of paper. 259 00:12:59,585 --> 00:13:02,501 {\an1}- Then, from the piece of paper, we made a key blank, 260 00:13:02,626 --> 00:13:03,543 {\an1}you know, out of brass. 261 00:13:03,710 --> 00:13:05,376 {\an1}In the machine shop, we cut a piece of brass 262 00:13:05,543 --> 00:13:07,710 {\an1}the right size, and then just transferred 263 00:13:07,835 --> 00:13:11,876 {\an1}the shape of the key onto it. 264 00:13:12,043 --> 00:13:13,876 {\an1}- Now they need to get their hands on the key 265 00:13:14,043 --> 00:13:15,585 {\an1}to the door. 266 00:13:15,710 --> 00:13:17,668 {\an1}But how? 267 00:13:17,751 --> 00:13:20,876 {\an1}- So we waited for the guards to do their rounds. 268 00:13:21,001 --> 00:13:22,793 {\an1}Once they opened the lock, 269 00:13:22,918 --> 00:13:25,543 {\an1}they put the keys back on their belt. 270 00:13:25,710 --> 00:13:29,043 {\an1}But the key they just used tends to be on top. 271 00:13:29,210 --> 00:13:30,876 {\an1}Obviously, the guard is not gonna be too keen 272 00:13:31,001 --> 00:13:32,876 {\an1}to let you approach him close enough 273 00:13:33,043 --> 00:13:33,918 {\an1}for you to get an imprint of the key. 274 00:13:34,085 --> 00:13:35,501 {\an1}- They have an idea. 275 00:13:35,626 --> 00:13:36,751 {\an1}[people shouting] 276 00:13:36,876 --> 00:13:41,543 {\an1}Nuno pays two inmates to create a diversion for him. 277 00:13:41,668 --> 00:13:45,835 {\an1}♪ ♪ 278 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,085 {\an1}- The guard has to intervene, but as the guard tries 279 00:13:49,210 --> 00:13:51,293 {\an1}to diffuse the situation, I step in. 280 00:13:51,418 --> 00:13:53,085 {\an1}And he's welcoming the fact that I'm there 281 00:13:53,251 --> 00:13:55,085 {\an1}and I'm helping to quell the thing. 282 00:13:55,251 --> 00:13:56,585 {\an1}But I'm sitting right next to him. 283 00:13:56,710 --> 00:13:57,793 {\an1}I mean, we are shoulder to shoulder. 284 00:13:57,918 --> 00:14:01,293 {\an1}And that gives me the opportunity to reach down. 285 00:14:01,418 --> 00:14:02,751 {\an1}- Nuno has mere seconds 286 00:14:02,918 --> 00:14:04,376 {\an1}to make the impression, 287 00:14:04,460 --> 00:14:05,918 {\an1}and the clock is ticking. 288 00:14:06,043 --> 00:14:09,210 {\an1}- It's a tense situation. 289 00:14:09,293 --> 00:14:11,751 {\an1}My concern was that the guard would hear the keys 290 00:14:11,918 --> 00:14:12,876 {\an1}as I touched them. 291 00:14:13,043 --> 00:14:15,001 {\an1}[keys jingle] 292 00:14:15,126 --> 00:14:16,501 {\an1}It actually worked and went fairly smoothly. 293 00:14:16,585 --> 00:14:21,293 {\an1}♪ ♪ 294 00:14:21,418 --> 00:14:23,626 {\an1}- With the key print in hand, 295 00:14:23,751 --> 00:14:25,710 {\an1}he can have a key made. 296 00:14:25,793 --> 00:14:28,418 {\an1}And Kevin Billingsley does that at night 297 00:14:28,585 --> 00:14:31,418 {\an1}in his cell in between the guards' rounds. 298 00:14:31,543 --> 00:14:33,585 {\an1}♪ ♪ 299 00:14:33,751 --> 00:14:36,751 {\an1}The next step is to try the key they've just made 300 00:14:36,918 --> 00:14:39,710 {\an1}to see if it works. 301 00:14:39,835 --> 00:14:43,418 {\an1}And they must do it without being detected. 302 00:14:43,585 --> 00:14:46,126 {\an1}- There's a risk that one of the guard towers 303 00:14:46,251 --> 00:14:47,751 {\an1}would be able to see them. 304 00:14:47,876 --> 00:14:49,710 {\an1}♪ ♪ 305 00:14:49,835 --> 00:14:51,918 {\an1}- Nuno knows from observing the guards 306 00:14:52,043 --> 00:14:56,210 {\an1}that he and Greg have exactly 17 seconds to get to the door 307 00:14:56,335 --> 00:14:58,043 {\an1}and try the key 308 00:14:58,210 --> 00:15:00,543 {\an1}before the guard on the wall above them 309 00:15:00,626 --> 00:15:03,918 {\an1}comes out of his booth and sees them at the door 310 00:15:04,043 --> 00:15:07,168 {\an1}where they shouldn't be. 311 00:15:07,251 --> 00:15:10,376 {\an1}[dramatic music] 312 00:15:10,460 --> 00:15:15,085 {\an1}♪ ♪ 313 00:15:15,251 --> 00:15:17,085 {\an1}- We went down, we were going to go check the key, 314 00:15:17,251 --> 00:15:18,501 {\an1}make sure it works. 315 00:15:18,585 --> 00:15:25,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 316 00:15:29,460 --> 00:15:32,043 {\an1}Made it too thin. It broke. 317 00:15:32,168 --> 00:15:34,835 {\an1}- Amazingly, the guard in the tower 318 00:15:34,918 --> 00:15:38,960 {\an1}doesn't see them, and he won't be able to see the broken key. 319 00:15:39,085 --> 00:15:42,210 {\an1}But they aren't in the clear. 320 00:15:42,376 --> 00:15:45,085 {\an1}- There would be checks that would come around 321 00:15:45,251 --> 00:15:47,085 {\an1}to check to make sure that that lock is locked. 322 00:15:47,210 --> 00:15:49,751 {\an1}♪ ♪ 323 00:15:49,918 --> 00:15:51,626 {\an1}- If the key is found, 324 00:15:51,751 --> 00:15:54,960 {\an1}not only will their plan be discovered, 325 00:15:55,085 --> 00:15:59,085 {\an1}they'll also be sent to the place every prisoner dreads. 326 00:15:59,210 --> 00:16:00,751 {\an1}♪ ♪ 327 00:16:00,918 --> 00:16:04,543 {\an1}Solitary confinement. 328 00:16:04,668 --> 00:16:07,126 {\an1}- It was a question of coming up with ways of dealing 329 00:16:07,251 --> 00:16:08,251 {\an1}with unpredictable events. 330 00:16:08,418 --> 00:16:11,835 {\an1}I had to deal with those situations on the fly. 331 00:16:11,918 --> 00:16:15,376 {\an1}- Their only option is to steal needle-nose pliers 332 00:16:15,460 --> 00:16:17,376 {\an1}from Nuno's job at the maintenance office 333 00:16:17,501 --> 00:16:21,210 {\an1}on the back side of the building. 334 00:16:21,376 --> 00:16:24,085 {\an1}- Pontes knew where tools were. 335 00:16:24,251 --> 00:16:25,501 {\an1}He was able to get to this cabinet 336 00:16:25,585 --> 00:16:27,085 {\an1}where the tools were kept, 337 00:16:27,251 --> 00:16:30,001 {\an1}file the hinge pins off on the bottom, 338 00:16:30,126 --> 00:16:33,918 {\an1}pop the hinge pins out, take the tools, 339 00:16:34,085 --> 00:16:35,751 {\an1}put the hinge pins back in, 340 00:16:35,876 --> 00:16:39,543 {\an1}and then get them back at the end of the day. 341 00:16:39,710 --> 00:16:43,043 {\an1}- His heart races as he rushes back to the lock 342 00:16:43,126 --> 00:16:45,668 {\an1}with the stolen pliers, 343 00:16:45,751 --> 00:16:49,251 {\an1}hoping the guard in the tower doesn't see him. 344 00:16:49,376 --> 00:16:53,460 {\an1}And if he can't get the broken key out of the lock, 345 00:16:53,585 --> 00:16:58,043 {\an1}it will be just a matter of time before they are caught. 346 00:16:58,210 --> 00:17:01,710 {\an1}At last, it's out. 347 00:17:01,835 --> 00:17:05,543 {\an1}But they still don't have a working key. 348 00:17:05,668 --> 00:17:07,543 {\an1}- It wasn't just a one-try thing. 349 00:17:07,668 --> 00:17:09,251 {\an1}I actually had to go several times 350 00:17:09,418 --> 00:17:11,293 {\an1}until I got the key adjusted. 351 00:17:11,418 --> 00:17:14,668 {\an1}- And then we got another key made. 352 00:17:14,751 --> 00:17:18,668 {\an1}- This is the moment they have been waiting for. 353 00:17:18,751 --> 00:17:22,918 {\an1}♪ ♪ 354 00:17:23,084 --> 00:17:26,209 {\an1}[lock clicks] 355 00:17:26,376 --> 00:17:28,043 {\an1}- And it worked. 356 00:17:28,168 --> 00:17:30,626 {\an1}♪ ♪ 357 00:17:30,751 --> 00:17:33,710 {\an1}- The first time that it works, relief is the main emotion. 358 00:17:33,876 --> 00:17:36,710 {\an1}It's like, whew, finally. 359 00:17:36,876 --> 00:17:39,251 {\an1}- They can now access the crawl space 360 00:17:39,418 --> 00:17:41,335 {\an1}to begin digging. 361 00:17:41,418 --> 00:17:44,835 {\an1}But before they start operating full speed ahead, 362 00:17:44,918 --> 00:17:47,710 {\an1}they need to divert the attention of the guards 363 00:17:47,876 --> 00:17:51,001 {\an1}away from the digging operation. 364 00:17:51,085 --> 00:17:56,751 {\an1}♪ ♪ 365 00:17:56,918 --> 00:18:01,710 {\an1}- So my idea was the standard strategy magicians use. 366 00:18:01,835 --> 00:18:03,543 {\an1}You show one thing with one hand, 367 00:18:03,626 --> 00:18:05,751 {\an1}as you're doing one thing with the other hand. 368 00:18:05,918 --> 00:18:09,918 {\an1}So what I decide to do is to mount a huge 369 00:18:10,043 --> 00:18:12,626 {\an1}wine-producing operation. 370 00:18:12,751 --> 00:18:15,835 {\an1}We were making 30 gallons at a time. 371 00:18:15,918 --> 00:18:19,210 {\an1}We are actually taking, you know, gallons of wine 372 00:18:19,376 --> 00:18:21,835 {\an1}out to the yard and have lines set up. 373 00:18:21,918 --> 00:18:27,210 {\an1}♪ ♪ 374 00:18:27,293 --> 00:18:29,210 {\an1}- The guard become focused on trying to nab 375 00:18:29,335 --> 00:18:31,168 {\an1}their wine-making operation, 376 00:18:31,251 --> 00:18:34,251 {\an1}not realizing that the trio is getting ready to start 377 00:18:34,418 --> 00:18:35,710 {\an1}digging the tunnel. 378 00:18:35,835 --> 00:18:38,376 {\an1}They're waiting for them to slip up. 379 00:18:38,543 --> 00:18:42,376 {\an1}Nuno's magic trick is a dangerous proposition 380 00:18:42,460 --> 00:18:43,918 {\an1}because if they're caught, 381 00:18:44,085 --> 00:18:47,168 {\an1}their whole escape plan could be in jeopardy. 382 00:18:47,251 --> 00:18:50,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 383 00:18:50,668 --> 00:18:52,126 {\an1}- There was this one guard in particular 384 00:18:52,251 --> 00:18:54,085 {\an1}that used to be in the gate when I came 385 00:18:54,251 --> 00:18:56,376 {\an1}from work to go back to the block. 386 00:18:56,460 --> 00:18:57,835 {\an1}He really didn't like me. 387 00:18:57,918 --> 00:18:59,793 {\an1}One time, I got to the gate, and he says, 388 00:18:59,918 --> 00:19:02,376 {\an1}"Pontes, put your hands up. Pat-down." 389 00:19:02,543 --> 00:19:04,460 {\an1}So I pull my keys out of my pocket 390 00:19:04,585 --> 00:19:06,210 {\an1}and hand them to one guard, and I say, 391 00:19:06,335 --> 00:19:07,585 {\an1}here, hold these. 392 00:19:07,710 --> 00:19:10,751 {\an1}- Inmates do have certain keys they're allowed to have. 393 00:19:10,876 --> 00:19:13,085 {\an1}A padlock on a footlocker, for instance. 394 00:19:13,251 --> 00:19:16,876 {\an1}- But in my keys, I also had the keys that were their keys. 395 00:19:17,001 --> 00:19:18,543 {\an1}I had these keys that, obviously, they weren't 396 00:19:18,668 --> 00:19:20,335 {\an1}the type of keys inmates would have. 397 00:19:20,418 --> 00:19:22,376 {\an1}- Nuno has just handed the guard the keys 398 00:19:22,460 --> 00:19:24,835 {\an1}to his escape. 399 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:27,918 {\an1}Will the guard uncover his plans 400 00:19:28,043 --> 00:19:31,918 {\an1}and keep him trapped in this hellhole forever? 401 00:19:32,043 --> 00:19:33,793 {\an1}♪ ♪ 402 00:19:38,418 --> 00:19:39,876 {\an1}- As he plots his escape 403 00:19:40,043 --> 00:19:44,335 {\an1}from a Pittsburg prison, Nuno Pontes is about to get 404 00:19:44,460 --> 00:19:47,710 {\an1}a pat-down search from a prison guard. 405 00:19:47,835 --> 00:19:51,418 {\an1}The one thing Nuno does not want him to find 406 00:19:51,543 --> 00:19:56,335 {\an1}is the illegal copy of the key to the crawl space. 407 00:19:56,418 --> 00:19:59,626 {\an1}That is the key to his freedom, 408 00:19:59,751 --> 00:20:02,876 {\an1}so he makes a bold choice. 409 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:06,043 {\an1}He hands the key right to the guard. 410 00:20:06,126 --> 00:20:08,376 {\an1}♪ ♪ 411 00:20:08,460 --> 00:20:10,043 {\an1}- They never actually looked at the keys. 412 00:20:10,126 --> 00:20:16,335 {\an1}♪ ♪ 413 00:20:16,460 --> 00:20:18,668 {\an1}- While Nuno may not have gotten caught 414 00:20:18,751 --> 00:20:20,543 {\an1}with the keys to the crawl space, 415 00:20:20,626 --> 00:20:23,626 {\an1}their wine-making operation backfires. 416 00:20:23,751 --> 00:20:26,460 {\an1}They lose one of their team members, 417 00:20:26,585 --> 00:20:28,543 {\an1}Greg Quiring. 418 00:20:28,626 --> 00:20:31,210 {\an1}- I was on cell restriction for the wine. [chuckles] 419 00:20:31,293 --> 00:20:32,668 {\an1}So I was locked in my cell. 420 00:20:32,751 --> 00:20:34,876 {\an1}I can't be at yard, I can't be at work 421 00:20:35,043 --> 00:20:36,710 {\an1}at the library or anything else. 422 00:20:36,876 --> 00:20:39,793 {\an1}- After his time on cell restriction, 423 00:20:39,918 --> 00:20:43,751 {\an1}Greg is sent to solitary for an unrelated incident. 424 00:20:43,918 --> 00:20:46,418 {\an1}He won't be taking part in the escape. 425 00:20:46,585 --> 00:20:48,835 {\an1}Luckily for the team, 426 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:52,710 {\an1}Greg is the only one nabbed for wine-making. 427 00:20:52,835 --> 00:20:57,918 {\an1}♪ ♪ 428 00:20:58,085 --> 00:20:59,918 {\an1}With the precarious cover in place 429 00:21:00,085 --> 00:21:01,918 {\an1}and the key to the crawl space, 430 00:21:02,043 --> 00:21:05,376 {\an1}Nuno and Kevin are ready to start digging. 431 00:21:05,460 --> 00:21:08,751 {\an1}♪ ♪ 432 00:21:08,918 --> 00:21:11,210 {\an1}- At first, it was just Kevin and I. 433 00:21:11,376 --> 00:21:13,251 {\an1}and we would take turns going down there 434 00:21:13,418 --> 00:21:15,001 {\an1}because when we go down to dig, 435 00:21:15,085 --> 00:21:16,210 {\an1}somebody has to lock 436 00:21:16,376 --> 00:21:17,418 {\an1}whoever's down there in 437 00:21:17,585 --> 00:21:19,918 {\an1}'cause you can't leave the lock unlocked. 438 00:21:20,085 --> 00:21:21,543 {\an1}The guards would notice. 439 00:21:21,710 --> 00:21:24,001 {\an1}- Once they're locked into the crawl space, 440 00:21:24,126 --> 00:21:26,918 {\an1}they have little more than some pieces of wood, 441 00:21:27,085 --> 00:21:29,710 {\an1}some buckets, and some hardhats 442 00:21:29,835 --> 00:21:32,210 {\an1}they've stolen from the prison's power plant 443 00:21:32,376 --> 00:21:34,751 {\an1}and rigged with lights. 444 00:21:34,876 --> 00:21:37,876 {\an1}- The digging is hard. The soil is clay. 445 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:38,793 {\an1}It's a riverbank. 446 00:21:38,918 --> 00:21:42,710 {\an1}We would break clay loose with the sticks 447 00:21:42,876 --> 00:21:46,876 {\an1}and then pull it up into the crawl space. 448 00:21:47,043 --> 00:21:50,960 {\an1}- Just to go 60 feet, they have to remove 15 tons of soil 449 00:21:51,085 --> 00:21:53,710 {\an1}from that little opening. 450 00:21:53,876 --> 00:21:55,376 {\an1}That's a lot of material to be hauling around. 451 00:21:55,543 --> 00:21:56,543 {\an1}It's very strenuous. 452 00:21:56,710 --> 00:21:58,626 {\an1}- Nuno and Kevin are hoping to tunnel 453 00:21:58,751 --> 00:22:00,543 {\an1}from the crawl space to the warehouse 454 00:22:00,668 --> 00:22:03,501 {\an1}on the other side of the wall, 455 00:22:03,626 --> 00:22:07,418 {\an1}but there are big obstacles in their way. 456 00:22:07,585 --> 00:22:09,335 {\an1}- The wall went down underground, 457 00:22:09,460 --> 00:22:11,585 {\an1}so we would have to dig 14 feet down, 458 00:22:11,751 --> 00:22:14,835 {\an1}and then across because there was a road 459 00:22:14,918 --> 00:22:17,210 {\an1}- There's quite a bit of inherent danger 460 00:22:17,335 --> 00:22:19,710 {\an1}where they dug this tunnel. 461 00:22:19,835 --> 00:22:24,376 {\an1}Coal trucks run over the road that they went underneath. 462 00:22:24,501 --> 00:22:27,251 {\an1}They certainly had a real possibility 463 00:22:27,418 --> 00:22:28,543 {\an1}of having a cave-in. 464 00:22:28,626 --> 00:22:30,835 {\an1}♪ ♪ 465 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:33,835 {\an1}- And not only do they have to worry about collapse, 466 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,585 {\an1}they also have to worry about running out of oxygen 467 00:22:36,751 --> 00:22:38,543 {\an1}as they dig deeper into the earth. 468 00:22:38,668 --> 00:22:40,918 {\an1}[heavy breathing] 469 00:22:41,043 --> 00:22:44,876 {\an1}♪ ♪ 470 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:47,085 {\an1}- We were constantly running out of air in there, 471 00:22:47,251 --> 00:22:50,126 {\an1}so we have to come back, turn around, and go back. 472 00:22:50,251 --> 00:22:51,376 {\an1}- The threat of collapse 473 00:22:51,501 --> 00:22:53,043 {\an1}and the potential for suffocating 474 00:22:53,210 --> 00:22:55,460 {\an1}is heavy on their minds 475 00:22:55,585 --> 00:22:58,876 {\an1}as they slowly expand their tunnel. 476 00:22:59,001 --> 00:23:00,626 {\an1}But the risk is worth the reward 477 00:23:00,751 --> 00:23:02,501 {\an1}if they can dig their way to freedom. 478 00:23:02,585 --> 00:23:09,710 {\an1}♪ ♪ 479 00:23:14,460 --> 00:23:16,210 {\an1}The work is slow going. 480 00:23:16,376 --> 00:23:19,543 {\an1}Nuno and Kevin debate about adding another team member 481 00:23:19,710 --> 00:23:21,293 {\an1}to help dig. 482 00:23:21,418 --> 00:23:24,376 {\an1}Then something out of their control happens. 483 00:23:24,501 --> 00:23:27,460 {\an1}- Carmen Keller saw something. 484 00:23:27,585 --> 00:23:28,710 {\an1}He's asking questions. 485 00:23:28,876 --> 00:23:30,501 {\an1}He's obviously suspicious that something more 486 00:23:30,585 --> 00:23:32,418 {\an1}than just the wine-making is going on. 487 00:23:32,543 --> 00:23:38,376 {\an1}♪ ♪ 488 00:23:38,543 --> 00:23:40,543 {\an1}- Carmen Keller, an inmate serving 489 00:23:40,668 --> 00:23:42,835 {\an1}a life sentence for second-degree murder, 490 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,168 {\an1}is added to the team as a third member. 491 00:23:46,293 --> 00:23:49,710 {\an1}- I'm nervous about hiring him, but by bringing him in, 492 00:23:49,835 --> 00:23:54,168 {\an1}he's got an incentive not to tell anything to anybody. 493 00:23:54,251 --> 00:23:56,418 {\an1}- Carmen Keller brings more to the table 494 00:23:56,585 --> 00:23:58,585 {\an1}than just an extra pair of hands. 495 00:23:58,710 --> 00:24:00,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 496 00:24:00,626 --> 00:24:05,710 {\an1}- He had a job as a pass runner for the educational department. 497 00:24:05,876 --> 00:24:07,085 {\an1}- As a pass runner, 498 00:24:07,251 --> 00:24:09,460 {\an1}Carmen is given access to places 499 00:24:09,585 --> 00:24:12,335 {\an1}and allowed to wander the prison without much oversight. 500 00:24:12,460 --> 00:24:16,751 {\an1}This means he has time to dig and can provide passes 501 00:24:16,918 --> 00:24:19,501 {\an1}for the other inmates to get them out of their jobs 502 00:24:19,626 --> 00:24:21,960 {\an1}and cells when need be. 503 00:24:22,085 --> 00:24:24,210 {\an1}While the three men dig the tunnel, 504 00:24:24,293 --> 00:24:26,418 {\an1}Nuno is planning ahead. 505 00:24:26,543 --> 00:24:30,376 {\an1}♪ ♪ 506 00:24:30,501 --> 00:24:32,168 {\an1}And for the getaway, 507 00:24:32,293 --> 00:24:36,126 {\an1}he will need to add a fourth team member, 508 00:24:36,251 --> 00:24:37,668 {\an1}George Conard. 509 00:24:37,751 --> 00:24:43,585 {\an1}♪ ♪ 510 00:24:43,751 --> 00:24:45,793 {\an1}George Conard is a convicted killer 511 00:24:45,918 --> 00:24:47,876 {\an1}serving a life sentence. 512 00:24:48,043 --> 00:24:49,585 {\an1}- George Conard is from Pittsburg, 513 00:24:49,751 --> 00:24:51,085 {\an1}and he's got contacts on the outside 514 00:24:51,210 --> 00:24:53,626 {\an1}that can provide us with a getaway car 515 00:24:53,751 --> 00:24:55,501 {\an1}once we get to the other side of the wall. 516 00:24:55,626 --> 00:24:58,335 {\an1}- Conard is essential to arranging local connections 517 00:24:58,418 --> 00:25:00,668 {\an1}once they escape the prison so that Nuno 518 00:25:00,793 --> 00:25:03,043 {\an1}and his team can travel to Texas. 519 00:25:03,210 --> 00:25:05,710 {\an1}From there, they plan to leave the country 520 00:25:05,876 --> 00:25:08,168 {\an1}and go their separate ways. 521 00:25:08,251 --> 00:25:09,376 {\an1}♪ ♪ 522 00:25:09,460 --> 00:25:12,876 {\an1}With Conard, the four-member team is able to dig faster 523 00:25:13,001 --> 00:25:15,876 {\an1}than they ever have before. 524 00:25:16,001 --> 00:25:17,876 {\an1}- We are trying to get as many shifts in as possible. 525 00:25:18,043 --> 00:25:19,418 {\an1}Keller can get away in the morning, 526 00:25:19,543 --> 00:25:23,293 {\an1}and I can also sneak away in the morning sometimes. 527 00:25:23,418 --> 00:25:25,585 {\an1}But most of the time, it's Carmen and Kevin 528 00:25:25,751 --> 00:25:26,876 {\an1}in the afternoon. 529 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:30,751 {\an1}- After four weeks, they have dug 14 feet down 530 00:25:30,876 --> 00:25:34,126 {\an1}and 30 feet across under the access road, 531 00:25:34,251 --> 00:25:38,543 {\an1}putting them somewhere right below the wall's foundation. 532 00:25:38,668 --> 00:25:40,876 {\an1}Although they are moving quicker now, 533 00:25:41,001 --> 00:25:43,543 {\an1}there's always the danger of being caught red-handed. 534 00:25:43,668 --> 00:25:50,710 {\an1}♪ ♪ 535 00:25:50,835 --> 00:25:52,876 {\an1}- One day, I put him in the tunnel, lock him in, 536 00:25:53,043 --> 00:25:54,918 {\an1}and I go to the Chow Hole to eat. 537 00:25:55,085 --> 00:25:57,210 {\an1}While I'm in the Chow Hole eating, 538 00:25:57,335 --> 00:25:58,835 {\an1}the alarms go off. 539 00:25:58,918 --> 00:26:00,460 {\an1}They blow the horn three times. 540 00:26:00,585 --> 00:26:03,251 {\an1}[horn blares] 541 00:26:03,418 --> 00:26:06,710 {\an1}- In December of '96, shortly after noon, 542 00:26:06,835 --> 00:26:09,710 {\an1}an inmate stabbed two officers. 543 00:26:09,876 --> 00:26:11,835 {\an1}From that, we did a general alarm to get 544 00:26:11,918 --> 00:26:14,501 {\an1}all the inmates back into their cellblocks 545 00:26:14,626 --> 00:26:16,168 {\an1}in a general lockdown. 546 00:26:16,251 --> 00:26:19,001 {\an1}- They locked the Chow Hole. I'm locked in there. 547 00:26:19,085 --> 00:26:21,376 {\an1}And, obviously, the first thing 548 00:26:21,460 --> 00:26:22,210 {\an1}what I'm thinking now is, 549 00:26:22,335 --> 00:26:23,626 {\an1}"I gotta go get these guys out." 550 00:26:23,751 --> 00:26:26,043 {\an1}This prison's gonna be locked down, 551 00:26:26,168 --> 00:26:27,418 {\an1}and they have no way out of there. 552 00:26:27,585 --> 00:26:29,668 {\an1}[horn blares] 553 00:26:29,793 --> 00:26:32,710 {\an1}- Mr. Pontes knew if he didn't get them out of there 554 00:26:32,793 --> 00:26:35,043 {\an1}right away, the jig was up. 555 00:26:35,168 --> 00:26:37,376 {\an1}- If they were found out digging that tunnel, 556 00:26:37,501 --> 00:26:39,585 {\an1}they would have went to the Hole for a lot of years. 557 00:26:39,751 --> 00:26:40,960 {\an1}A lot of years. 558 00:26:41,085 --> 00:26:42,418 {\an1}- Let's go, let's go! 559 00:26:42,543 --> 00:26:44,626 {\an1}- Nuno Pontes is going to have to think fast 560 00:26:44,751 --> 00:26:47,793 {\an1}if he's going to get the guys safely out of the tunnel 561 00:26:47,918 --> 00:26:50,418 {\an1}without anyone knowing what they were up to. 562 00:26:50,543 --> 00:26:53,751 {\an1}If he can't figure it out, the escape is over, 563 00:26:53,918 --> 00:26:55,751 {\an1}and they will all rot in the Hole 564 00:26:55,918 --> 00:26:58,001 {\an1}for many, many years. 565 00:27:03,751 --> 00:27:07,126 {\an1}[dramatic music] 566 00:27:07,251 --> 00:27:10,876 {\an1}- For the last year, four men have been furiously 567 00:27:11,001 --> 00:27:13,168 {\an1}planning and working towards a daring escape 568 00:27:13,251 --> 00:27:17,793 {\an1}from Pennsylvania's infamous Western Penitentiary. 569 00:27:17,918 --> 00:27:21,376 {\an1}Their plans are on the brink of collapse 570 00:27:21,501 --> 00:27:25,293 {\an1}as two prison guards have been stabbed, 571 00:27:25,418 --> 00:27:29,085 {\an1}sending the prison into lockdown mode. 572 00:27:29,251 --> 00:27:32,960 {\an1}Carmen Keller and Kevin Billingsley 573 00:27:33,085 --> 00:27:36,668 {\an1}are underground, digging the escape tunnel. 574 00:27:36,751 --> 00:27:38,918 {\an1}They can't hear the lockdown alarm 575 00:27:39,085 --> 00:27:40,376 {\an1}blaring at the surface. 576 00:27:40,501 --> 00:27:44,876 {\an1}Mastermind Nuno Pontes has to think fast 577 00:27:45,043 --> 00:27:47,251 {\an1}because if they don't get back to their cells 578 00:27:47,418 --> 00:27:52,251 {\an1}for head count, the entire escape plot is done for, 579 00:27:52,418 --> 00:27:54,543 {\an1}and they'll all spend years in the Hole. 580 00:27:54,626 --> 00:27:56,710 {\an1}♪ ♪ 581 00:27:56,835 --> 00:27:58,251 {\an1}- I could have walked away. 582 00:27:58,418 --> 00:28:01,626 {\an1}They would have been locked in there. 583 00:28:01,751 --> 00:28:03,835 {\an1}That wouldn't have been neither the smart nor the right thing 584 00:28:03,918 --> 00:28:06,001 {\an1}to do. 585 00:28:06,085 --> 00:28:08,543 {\an1}- Nuno Pontes asks two fellow inmates 586 00:28:08,710 --> 00:28:11,085 {\an1}to create a disturbance as they're walking back 587 00:28:11,210 --> 00:28:13,335 {\an1}to their cells so he can slip off. 588 00:28:13,418 --> 00:28:14,876 {\an1}- [whispers] Now. 589 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:17,876 {\an1}[people shouting] 590 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:25,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 591 00:28:25,126 --> 00:28:28,085 {\an1}- His plan works, and the guard doesn't realize 592 00:28:28,251 --> 00:28:30,751 {\an1}he's missing. 593 00:28:30,918 --> 00:28:33,043 {\an1}But Nuno isn't in the clear yet. 594 00:28:33,126 --> 00:28:35,085 {\an1}He still has to get into the crawl space 595 00:28:35,251 --> 00:28:38,043 {\an1}and be locked in so the guards don't notice anything 596 00:28:38,126 --> 00:28:39,210 {\an1}out of place. 597 00:28:39,376 --> 00:28:41,710 {\an1}And to do that, he's going to need the help 598 00:28:41,876 --> 00:28:42,918 {\an1}of another inmate, 599 00:28:43,043 --> 00:28:46,626 {\an1}one who isn't aware of the escape plan. 600 00:28:46,751 --> 00:28:50,168 {\an1}- I grabbed this guy, Tree, and I said, come with me. 601 00:28:50,251 --> 00:28:52,418 {\an1}I didn't necessarily want to let anybody else know, 602 00:28:52,585 --> 00:28:53,668 {\an1}but I have no choice. 603 00:28:53,751 --> 00:28:57,210 {\an1}I tell Tree, here's this key. Lock this door behind me. 604 00:28:57,335 --> 00:28:59,126 {\an1}Come back in ten minutes and let me out. 605 00:28:59,251 --> 00:29:02,626 {\an1}And that was--that was a very tense moment 606 00:29:02,751 --> 00:29:05,001 {\an1}'cause I have no idea if this guy's gonna do it. 607 00:29:05,085 --> 00:29:08,585 {\an1}♪ ♪ 608 00:29:08,710 --> 00:29:10,668 {\an1}I started to go through the crawl space. 609 00:29:10,793 --> 00:29:12,585 {\an1}Kevin and Carmen are coming. 610 00:29:12,751 --> 00:29:13,793 {\an1}For some reason, they had a sense 611 00:29:13,918 --> 00:29:15,501 {\an1}that something wasn't right, so they were coming out 612 00:29:15,626 --> 00:29:16,876 {\an1}of the tunnel. 613 00:29:17,001 --> 00:29:17,793 {\an1}And I tell them, "Look, we gotta go. 614 00:29:17,918 --> 00:29:20,668 {\an1}There's a lockdown in progress." 615 00:29:20,751 --> 00:29:23,418 {\an1}We go back to the exit. 616 00:29:23,543 --> 00:29:25,376 {\an1}- Nuno and the escape team fear 617 00:29:25,543 --> 00:29:27,543 {\an1}Tree won't come back to let them out. 618 00:29:27,668 --> 00:29:31,668 {\an1}If he doesn't come back, the next person to open that door 619 00:29:31,751 --> 00:29:33,376 {\an1}will be one of the guards, 620 00:29:33,501 --> 00:29:37,501 {\an1}guaranteeing them all years in solitary. 621 00:29:37,585 --> 00:29:41,543 {\an1}In their minds, there's only one question, 622 00:29:41,710 --> 00:29:44,210 {\an1}"Who's going to open the door next?" 623 00:29:44,376 --> 00:29:47,710 {\an1}Tree or the guards? 624 00:29:47,793 --> 00:29:51,251 {\an1}♪ ♪ 625 00:29:51,376 --> 00:29:56,585 {\an1}Thankfully, Tree pulls through and opens the door. 626 00:29:56,751 --> 00:29:59,085 {\an1}- And so we went to our blocks, and that was it. 627 00:29:59,210 --> 00:30:01,710 {\an1}It was by the skin of the teeth, as they say. 628 00:30:01,793 --> 00:30:05,210 {\an1}♪ ♪ 629 00:30:05,335 --> 00:30:08,251 {\an1}- The team's close call creates a strong bond, 630 00:30:08,418 --> 00:30:11,876 {\an1}and they resolve to finish the tunnel even faster. 631 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:13,085 {\an1}- From then on, 632 00:30:13,251 --> 00:30:15,168 {\an1}they were much more willing to do whatever I said 633 00:30:15,293 --> 00:30:16,543 {\an1}'cause they just couldn't believe 634 00:30:16,710 --> 00:30:19,376 {\an1}that I actually went there and told Tree to lock me in. 635 00:30:19,460 --> 00:30:21,335 {\an1}'Cause, in essence, whatever fate they were gonna suffer, 636 00:30:21,418 --> 00:30:22,793 {\an1}I was gonna suffer. 637 00:30:22,918 --> 00:30:25,293 {\an1}- Meanwhile, Nuno's working on the plan 638 00:30:25,418 --> 00:30:28,793 {\an1}for what happens once they leave the prison walls behind. 639 00:30:28,918 --> 00:30:32,751 {\an1}- So Conard is supposed to have gotten somebody to be there 640 00:30:32,876 --> 00:30:33,835 {\an1}with a car for us. 641 00:30:33,918 --> 00:30:36,085 {\an1}But he's not coming through, so we need somebody 642 00:30:36,251 --> 00:30:38,335 {\an1}that knows how to steal a car. 643 00:30:38,460 --> 00:30:40,876 {\an1}And none of us has any experience with stealing cars. 644 00:30:41,001 --> 00:30:43,376 {\an1}Kevin, he says, "Look, there's this kid that's a car thief. 645 00:30:43,543 --> 00:30:45,543 {\an1}He can hotwire a car very quickly. 646 00:30:45,668 --> 00:30:48,501 {\an1}♪ ♪ 647 00:30:48,585 --> 00:30:52,251 {\an1}- Andrew Heim is serving a 4- to 15-year sentence 648 00:30:52,418 --> 00:30:54,710 {\an1}for theft and assault offenses. 649 00:30:54,876 --> 00:30:59,001 {\an1}- I don't really know Andrew, but we do have this problem. 650 00:30:59,085 --> 00:30:59,876 {\an1}- There was certainly a risk 651 00:31:00,001 --> 00:31:01,626 {\an1}with Nuno adding additional members 652 00:31:01,751 --> 00:31:03,876 {\an1}because the more people that know stuff, 653 00:31:04,001 --> 00:31:06,043 {\an1}the more people that can tell. 654 00:31:06,168 --> 00:31:07,710 {\an1}- Andrew Heim is the fifth member 655 00:31:07,835 --> 00:31:08,710 {\an1}added to the team 656 00:31:08,876 --> 00:31:11,751 {\an1}just as the tunnel is nearing completion. 657 00:31:11,876 --> 00:31:14,376 {\an1}But he's not the only new addition. 658 00:31:14,460 --> 00:31:18,376 {\an1}Nuno brings on an unlikely sixth member, 659 00:31:18,501 --> 00:31:20,043 {\an1}Thomas Berkelbaugh. 660 00:31:20,168 --> 00:31:24,210 {\an1}♪ ♪ 661 00:31:24,376 --> 00:31:26,710 {\an1}Berkelbaugh has a long history of robberies 662 00:31:26,793 --> 00:31:30,210 {\an1}and is serving a 10- to 20-year sentence. 663 00:31:30,376 --> 00:31:33,251 {\an1}- Berkelbaugh is a little bit of a different duck, 664 00:31:33,418 --> 00:31:35,043 {\an1}as far as the escape goes. 665 00:31:35,210 --> 00:31:38,418 {\an1}He had very little role to play in it. 666 00:31:38,585 --> 00:31:41,210 {\an1}He and Pontes were friends. 667 00:31:41,293 --> 00:31:43,335 {\an1}They decided to take him along 668 00:31:43,418 --> 00:31:45,418 {\an1}because they felt sorry for him 669 00:31:45,585 --> 00:31:47,876 {\an1}that he was gonna go blind. 670 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:51,210 {\an1}♪ ♪ 671 00:31:51,335 --> 00:31:53,376 {\an1}- There are now six inmates 672 00:31:53,543 --> 00:31:55,418 {\an1}in on the escape. 673 00:31:55,585 --> 00:31:58,001 {\an1}The team is complete. 674 00:31:58,085 --> 00:32:00,626 {\an1}- When you look at these six, they live in different areas, 675 00:32:00,751 --> 00:32:02,501 {\an1}they work in different areas, 676 00:32:02,626 --> 00:32:07,418 {\an1}their age groups are from 30 to 65. 677 00:32:07,543 --> 00:32:10,710 {\an1}There's not a lot of other things that tie them together, 678 00:32:10,793 --> 00:32:13,710 {\an1}other than the goal of doing this escape. 679 00:32:13,835 --> 00:32:15,210 {\an1}- The prisoners have been tunneling 680 00:32:15,293 --> 00:32:17,376 {\an1}for four months. 681 00:32:17,543 --> 00:32:19,293 {\an1}But the most difficult part of breaking out 682 00:32:19,418 --> 00:32:21,918 {\an1}still hangs over their heads, 683 00:32:22,085 --> 00:32:26,210 {\an1}digging straight up 14 feet to reach the floor 684 00:32:26,335 --> 00:32:28,793 {\an1}of the industrial warehouse. 685 00:32:28,918 --> 00:32:30,751 {\an1}- Now you're actually excavating the dirt 686 00:32:30,918 --> 00:32:31,751 {\an1}above your head. 687 00:32:31,876 --> 00:32:34,626 {\an1}If you hit any kind of unstable condition, 688 00:32:34,751 --> 00:32:37,543 {\an1}then you're gonna get a major collapse. 689 00:32:37,668 --> 00:32:39,335 {\an1}- I was the only one crazy enough 690 00:32:39,460 --> 00:32:40,376 {\an1}to do that sort of thing. 691 00:32:40,543 --> 00:32:42,376 {\an1}And the last bit of dirt came down, 692 00:32:42,501 --> 00:32:45,376 {\an1}and this rush of air came in. 693 00:32:45,501 --> 00:32:47,251 {\an1}This vacuum of "Whoo!" 694 00:32:47,418 --> 00:32:49,376 {\an1}The tunnel filled with air. 695 00:32:49,501 --> 00:32:52,501 {\an1}[breathing heavily] 696 00:32:52,585 --> 00:32:56,793 {\an1}- Freedom is so close they can feel it, 697 00:32:56,918 --> 00:32:59,585 {\an1}but their tunnel isn't complete. 698 00:32:59,710 --> 00:33:03,710 {\an1}The last and most difficult step is next, 699 00:33:03,793 --> 00:33:05,918 {\an1}breaking through the warehouse's 700 00:33:06,043 --> 00:33:08,543 {\an1}reinforced concrete floor. 701 00:33:08,668 --> 00:33:12,710 {\an1}To do that, they're going to need tools. 702 00:33:12,793 --> 00:33:17,293 {\an1}♪ ♪ 703 00:33:17,418 --> 00:33:20,376 {\an1}- I have keys that I made for the engineer's office 704 00:33:20,543 --> 00:33:22,543 {\an1}and for the cabinets, that's where there's tools. 705 00:33:22,668 --> 00:33:26,376 {\an1}We wait until night. 706 00:33:26,501 --> 00:33:29,835 {\an1}I get a hammer drill, and an hydraulic jack. 707 00:33:29,918 --> 00:33:31,876 {\an1}We took those tools down into the tunnel, 708 00:33:32,043 --> 00:33:35,251 {\an1}we drilled a bunch of holes in the concrete 709 00:33:35,376 --> 00:33:36,585 {\an1}to weaken the concrete. 710 00:33:36,751 --> 00:33:37,960 {\an1}And then we made a little indent 711 00:33:38,085 --> 00:33:38,876 {\an1}on the cement wall, 712 00:33:39,043 --> 00:33:40,543 {\an1}put the hydraulic jack against that, 713 00:33:40,710 --> 00:33:42,210 {\an1}and then we just pump. 714 00:33:42,293 --> 00:33:44,918 {\an1}[drill hammers] 715 00:33:45,085 --> 00:33:49,168 {\an1}- So they crank this jack till it literally broke through 716 00:33:49,293 --> 00:33:50,876 {\an1}the concrete floor. 717 00:33:51,001 --> 00:33:53,293 {\an1}And then they use this reciprocating saw 718 00:33:53,418 --> 00:33:55,085 {\an1}to cut through the rebar 719 00:33:55,251 --> 00:33:57,376 {\an1}and create an opening that allowed them to have access. 720 00:33:57,501 --> 00:34:01,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 721 00:34:01,168 --> 00:34:05,001 {\an1}- They came up near a mechanical room 722 00:34:05,126 --> 00:34:06,085 {\an1}for two reasons. 723 00:34:06,210 --> 00:34:08,876 {\an1}There's a lot of noise there that would cover 724 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:11,460 {\an1}their noise that they would make 725 00:34:11,585 --> 00:34:13,085 {\an1}when they're breaking through the floor. 726 00:34:13,210 --> 00:34:15,876 {\an1}And it's in the very back of the warehouse, 727 00:34:16,043 --> 00:34:20,668 {\an1}quite a ways from where any staff would be at, normally. 728 00:34:20,793 --> 00:34:24,376 {\an1}- It's a bold risk to leave the tunnel exit exposed, 729 00:34:24,543 --> 00:34:26,751 {\an1}but they have no choice. 730 00:34:26,876 --> 00:34:31,043 {\an1}They all can't get there until the morning. 731 00:34:31,168 --> 00:34:34,793 {\an1}They just have to pray that no one will find it 732 00:34:34,918 --> 00:34:37,001 {\an1}before they can leave. 733 00:34:37,085 --> 00:34:38,793 {\an1}♪ ♪ 734 00:34:43,876 --> 00:34:45,543 {\an1}- At Pittsburg's notorious Western Pen, 735 00:34:45,710 --> 00:34:48,585 {\an1}it's almost go time. 736 00:34:48,710 --> 00:34:51,043 {\an1}Nuno Pontes and his coconspirators 737 00:34:51,168 --> 00:34:53,710 {\an1}have completed their tunnel to freedom. 738 00:34:53,876 --> 00:34:57,376 {\an1}Now they wait for dawn to break 739 00:34:57,501 --> 00:35:01,710 {\an1}so that all six of them can escape. 740 00:35:01,876 --> 00:35:03,793 {\an1}- I was awake all night. 741 00:35:03,918 --> 00:35:05,876 {\an1}That is the first and only time during this project 742 00:35:06,043 --> 00:35:08,626 {\an1}when I confronted the enormity of what's going on. 743 00:35:08,751 --> 00:35:10,918 {\an1}I'm responsible for these guys with me, 744 00:35:11,085 --> 00:35:12,751 {\an1}and all sorts of things can go wrong. 745 00:35:12,918 --> 00:35:14,585 {\an1}So I remember being in the cell 746 00:35:14,710 --> 00:35:16,835 {\an1}and just shaking uncontrollably. 747 00:35:16,918 --> 00:35:23,710 {\an1}♪ ♪ 748 00:35:23,793 --> 00:35:26,251 {\an1}- Dawn eventually comes. 749 00:35:26,418 --> 00:35:27,668 {\an1}It's time. 750 00:35:27,793 --> 00:35:30,001 {\an1}- All six of the inmates were up early that morning. 751 00:35:30,126 --> 00:35:33,751 {\an1}Most of them left their cells sometime between 6:00 and 6:30. 752 00:35:33,918 --> 00:35:35,710 {\an1}- Keller was a pass runner. 753 00:35:35,835 --> 00:35:39,251 {\an1}He got us a bunch of blank early call passes. 754 00:35:39,418 --> 00:35:41,210 {\an1}These are passes that get you out of your cell early 755 00:35:41,376 --> 00:35:43,293 {\an1}before they open for the day. 756 00:35:43,418 --> 00:35:46,210 {\an1}- They converged, and they started to work their way 757 00:35:46,335 --> 00:35:47,418 {\an1}through the tunnel. 758 00:35:47,543 --> 00:35:52,710 {\an1}♪ ♪ 759 00:35:52,835 --> 00:35:54,043 {\an1}- Conard had never been there, 760 00:35:54,210 --> 00:35:56,710 {\an1}Andrew Heim had never been there, 761 00:35:56,876 --> 00:36:00,251 {\an1}Berkelbaugh had never been there, so Kevin went first, 762 00:36:00,418 --> 00:36:03,376 {\an1}and I went last to make sure nobody would turn around 763 00:36:03,543 --> 00:36:06,460 {\an1}and potentially give the thing away. 764 00:36:06,585 --> 00:36:07,751 {\an1}- Making it through the tunnel 765 00:36:07,876 --> 00:36:12,418 {\an1}would be challenging, even for the most athletic. 766 00:36:12,543 --> 00:36:16,085 {\an1}Nuno worries that they may not all be able to claw 767 00:36:16,251 --> 00:36:18,543 {\an1}their way to freedom. 768 00:36:18,626 --> 00:36:20,376 {\an1}- Berkelbaugh is right in front of me. 769 00:36:20,543 --> 00:36:21,918 {\an1}His prosthetic eye came out. 770 00:36:22,043 --> 00:36:24,585 {\an1}- Augh! 771 00:36:24,751 --> 00:36:26,710 {\an1}- He just felt his way around and found it. 772 00:36:26,793 --> 00:36:29,210 {\an1}You know, it was one of those surreal moments. 773 00:36:29,335 --> 00:36:33,585 {\an1}"I lost my eye." [chuckles] Well, it happens. 774 00:36:33,710 --> 00:36:40,793 {\an1}♪ ♪ 775 00:36:52,085 --> 00:36:55,876 {\an1}- Amazingly, all six make it out of the tunnel. 776 00:36:56,001 --> 00:36:57,835 {\an1}♪ ♪ 777 00:36:57,960 --> 00:36:59,835 {\an1}- Finally, we are all in this room in the warehouse. 778 00:36:59,918 --> 00:37:02,251 {\an1}We change clothes. 779 00:37:02,376 --> 00:37:05,335 {\an1}- At the time, the prison allowed civilian clothes. 780 00:37:05,460 --> 00:37:08,001 {\an1}This was part of a prisoner's bill of rights. 781 00:37:08,085 --> 00:37:12,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 782 00:37:12,168 --> 00:37:13,960 {\an1}- Even with their civilian clothes on, 783 00:37:14,085 --> 00:37:18,168 {\an1}they need to figure out a way to get out of the warehouse, 784 00:37:18,293 --> 00:37:20,168 {\an1}and there is a catch. 785 00:37:20,293 --> 00:37:22,168 {\an1}A guard is stationed on the wall 786 00:37:22,293 --> 00:37:25,043 {\an1}directly above the exit to the street. 787 00:37:25,168 --> 00:37:27,001 {\an1}- Turns out, the door can just be opened, 788 00:37:27,126 --> 00:37:30,210 {\an1}so I go out there first to see what needed to be done. 789 00:37:30,376 --> 00:37:32,335 {\an1}The guard is there, and he's looking at me. 790 00:37:32,418 --> 00:37:35,001 {\an1}I come back in, and I say, "Look, the guard is sitting 791 00:37:35,085 --> 00:37:37,751 {\an1}"out there on the wall, so you guys just remain calm. 792 00:37:37,918 --> 00:37:39,376 {\an1}I'm gonna say something to him." 793 00:37:39,460 --> 00:37:42,168 {\an1}We have street clothes, we have hardhats. 794 00:37:42,251 --> 00:37:44,376 {\an1}- Because it is outside the secure perimeter, 795 00:37:44,543 --> 00:37:46,960 {\an1}anyone that you would see there, you would think was 796 00:37:47,085 --> 00:37:49,501 {\an1}either working as a maintenance crew. 797 00:37:49,626 --> 00:37:50,543 {\an1}No one would think 798 00:37:50,710 --> 00:37:53,043 {\an1}that inmates are coming from that area 799 00:37:53,168 --> 00:37:55,210 {\an1}and escaping the institution. 800 00:37:55,293 --> 00:37:59,210 {\an1}♪ ♪ 801 00:37:59,376 --> 00:38:01,251 {\an1}- So we all walk out. 802 00:38:01,418 --> 00:38:03,085 {\an1}The guard looks down at us, and I look up at him 803 00:38:03,251 --> 00:38:05,210 {\an1}and waved at him, and he waved at us. 804 00:38:05,376 --> 00:38:08,918 {\an1}And we went out the door onto the street. 805 00:38:09,085 --> 00:38:11,876 {\an1}The exhilaration was overwhelming. 806 00:38:12,001 --> 00:38:14,335 {\an1}The air felt different, the light felt different. 807 00:38:14,460 --> 00:38:15,626 {\an1}Everything. 808 00:38:15,751 --> 00:38:17,210 {\an1}There's something supernatural about it, 809 00:38:17,376 --> 00:38:19,251 {\an1}it's just unbelievable 'cause, I guess, 810 00:38:19,376 --> 00:38:20,710 {\an1}until the very last minute, you don't think 811 00:38:20,876 --> 00:38:22,043 {\an1}it's gonna go through. 812 00:38:22,168 --> 00:38:25,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 813 00:38:25,210 --> 00:38:28,876 {\an1}We are free, but not scot-free. 814 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:31,376 {\an1}I mean, obviously, now is the hard part. 815 00:38:31,460 --> 00:38:33,835 {\an1}♪ ♪ 816 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:35,085 {\an1}- As soon as they got outside the prison, 817 00:38:35,251 --> 00:38:38,460 {\an1}they stole a car, piled into that car. 818 00:38:38,585 --> 00:38:41,710 {\an1}[engine revs] 819 00:38:41,835 --> 00:38:44,001 {\an1}♪ ♪ 820 00:38:44,126 --> 00:38:47,043 {\an1}- What the guards did not realize is 821 00:38:47,168 --> 00:38:50,251 {\an1}all of them had escaped through the tunnel, 822 00:38:50,418 --> 00:38:53,418 {\an1}probably around 8:00 in the morning. 823 00:38:53,543 --> 00:38:56,501 {\an1}And it wasn't until the 10:00 head count 824 00:38:56,626 --> 00:39:00,376 {\an1}that the institution realized there was a breakout. 825 00:39:00,460 --> 00:39:02,335 {\an1}♪ ♪ 826 00:39:02,460 --> 00:39:04,876 {\an1}- The Pittsburg Six may have just executed 827 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:07,710 {\an1}the perfect prison escape. 828 00:39:07,876 --> 00:39:09,376 {\an1}They have a two-hour head start 829 00:39:09,543 --> 00:39:11,501 {\an1}on the authorities. 830 00:39:11,585 --> 00:39:12,876 {\an1}But now they are faced 831 00:39:13,043 --> 00:39:16,043 {\an1}with their biggest challenge so far. 832 00:39:16,168 --> 00:39:18,543 {\an1}Will they survive on the outside 833 00:39:18,626 --> 00:39:20,210 {\an1}without being apprehended? 834 00:39:26,085 --> 00:39:27,710 {\an1}[dramatic music] 835 00:39:27,835 --> 00:39:31,210 {\an1}♪ ♪ 836 00:39:31,293 --> 00:39:33,835 {\an1}- Six inmates at Western Penitentiary, 837 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:37,210 {\an1}led by Nuno Pontes, have tunneled their way 838 00:39:37,335 --> 00:39:39,835 {\an1}out of the run down and dangerous prison. 839 00:39:39,918 --> 00:39:42,376 {\an1}♪ ♪ 840 00:39:42,501 --> 00:39:45,960 {\an1}The six are now on the run, hoping they won't get caught. 841 00:39:46,085 --> 00:39:47,210 {\an1}- I understood. 842 00:39:47,376 --> 00:39:49,126 {\an1}I knew it was much more likely for me to get caught 843 00:39:49,251 --> 00:39:50,543 {\an1}if I were with them than without them, 844 00:39:50,626 --> 00:39:54,335 {\an1}but the consequence of leaving them to their own devices, 845 00:39:54,460 --> 00:39:56,001 {\an1}somebody might have gotten seriously hurt, 846 00:39:56,085 --> 00:39:57,668 {\an1}and I'm the one that made the escape happen, 847 00:39:57,793 --> 00:39:59,085 {\an1}so it would have been my responsibility. 848 00:39:59,251 --> 00:40:01,293 {\an1}- The fact that there were six of them together 849 00:40:01,418 --> 00:40:03,918 {\an1}compounded the likelihood that we were going 850 00:40:04,043 --> 00:40:05,376 {\an1}to catch up with them. 851 00:40:05,501 --> 00:40:09,168 {\an1}- They became known as the Pittsburg Six. 852 00:40:09,251 --> 00:40:11,585 {\an1}- We were gonna go to Texas, get our IDs, 853 00:40:11,751 --> 00:40:13,751 {\an1}go from Texas to Mexico, 854 00:40:13,876 --> 00:40:16,251 {\an1}and then from Mexico onto South America, 855 00:40:16,418 --> 00:40:18,460 {\an1}and then from there, everybody could go their own way. 856 00:40:18,585 --> 00:40:22,043 {\an1}- The six travel undetected to Pasadena, Texas. 857 00:40:22,210 --> 00:40:24,210 {\an1}There, they hide in a hotel 858 00:40:24,376 --> 00:40:26,751 {\an1}while waiting for falsified documents 859 00:40:26,918 --> 00:40:28,335 {\an1}so they can leave the country. 860 00:40:28,418 --> 00:40:33,001 {\an1}♪ ♪ 861 00:40:33,126 --> 00:40:36,335 {\an1}- It wasn't until the first substantial lead came 862 00:40:36,460 --> 00:40:37,793 {\an1}on day six. 863 00:40:37,918 --> 00:40:40,710 {\an1}We received a late-night phone call 864 00:40:40,835 --> 00:40:42,710 {\an1}from Thomas Berkelbaugh's brother-in-law 865 00:40:42,835 --> 00:40:47,085 {\an1}that he has been hospitalized in a Houston, Texas, hospital. 866 00:40:47,210 --> 00:40:50,043 {\an1}- Berkelbaugh had serious drug-use problems. 867 00:40:50,210 --> 00:40:53,043 {\an1}He did a bunch of meth. He was getting really paranoid. 868 00:40:53,168 --> 00:40:55,543 {\an1}I had to put my foot down, as far as trying to get things 869 00:40:55,668 --> 00:40:59,126 {\an1}under control, but Berk decided he wanted to leave. 870 00:40:59,251 --> 00:41:01,793 {\an1}- Fortunately, for the remaining five, 871 00:41:01,918 --> 00:41:03,835 {\an1}Berkelbaugh doesn't give the details 872 00:41:03,918 --> 00:41:05,335 {\an1}of their whereabouts away. 873 00:41:05,418 --> 00:41:09,751 {\an1}But now the authorities know they are in Texas. 874 00:41:09,876 --> 00:41:14,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 875 00:41:14,710 --> 00:41:19,085 {\an1}- Nuno Pontes and Carmen Keller end up in a chase 876 00:41:19,251 --> 00:41:21,251 {\an1}with Texas authorities. 877 00:41:21,418 --> 00:41:26,418 {\an1}And Keller is arrested, Pontes gets away on foot. 878 00:41:26,585 --> 00:41:27,710 {\an1}- After being on the run 879 00:41:27,793 --> 00:41:31,918 {\an1}for two days, Nuno eventually makes it back to the hotel 880 00:41:32,043 --> 00:41:34,501 {\an1}while Keller sits in jail. 881 00:41:34,585 --> 00:41:37,626 {\an1}♪ ♪ 882 00:41:37,751 --> 00:41:40,376 {\an1}- Keller, that had gotten arrested, 883 00:41:40,543 --> 00:41:42,168 {\an1}tells them who are contacts are. 884 00:41:42,293 --> 00:41:43,710 {\an1}So they put them under surveillance, 885 00:41:43,876 --> 00:41:48,001 {\an1}and they follow that contact to the hotel in Pasadena. 886 00:41:48,126 --> 00:41:49,251 {\an1}- Because of Carmen Keller, 887 00:41:49,418 --> 00:41:54,126 {\an1}the authorities now have the hotel surrounded. 888 00:41:54,251 --> 00:41:57,376 {\an1}They have found the remaining escapees. 889 00:41:57,501 --> 00:41:59,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 890 00:41:59,168 --> 00:42:01,251 {\an1}- All of sudden, all these guns and machine-- 891 00:42:01,418 --> 00:42:03,876 {\an1}everybody's pointing guns at me. 892 00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:04,876 {\an1}I really wasn't expecting-- 893 00:42:05,001 --> 00:42:07,543 {\an1}We were almost scot-free, you know. 894 00:42:07,710 --> 00:42:08,960 {\an1}They say, "Don't move, don't move." 895 00:42:09,085 --> 00:42:10,251 {\an1}'Cause I'm analyzing the situation, 896 00:42:10,418 --> 00:42:11,251 {\an1}thinking, "What are my options?" 897 00:42:11,376 --> 00:42:13,293 {\an1}There's no way out of this one. 898 00:42:13,418 --> 00:42:15,376 {\an1}So I lay down on the ground, and they cuff me. 899 00:42:15,501 --> 00:42:17,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 900 00:42:17,710 --> 00:42:18,668 {\an1}[siren wails] 901 00:42:18,793 --> 00:42:19,501 {\an1}And that was it. 902 00:42:19,585 --> 00:42:21,710 {\an1}That was the end of that adventure. 903 00:42:21,793 --> 00:42:25,418 {\an1}♪ ♪ 904 00:42:25,585 --> 00:42:28,418 {\an1}- After years behind bars, 905 00:42:28,585 --> 00:42:32,210 {\an1}months of planning, avoiding detection 906 00:42:32,335 --> 00:42:34,668 {\an1}and tunneling under the earth, 907 00:42:34,751 --> 00:42:38,085 {\an1}the Pittsburg Six executed one of the most brazen, 908 00:42:38,251 --> 00:42:42,918 {\an1}brilliant, and cunning escapes in history. 909 00:42:43,043 --> 00:42:46,710 {\an1}The Mastermind, Nuno Pontes, 910 00:42:46,835 --> 00:42:50,210 {\an1}got just 12 days of freedom, 911 00:42:50,335 --> 00:42:54,501 {\an1}and then 14 years in solitary, 912 00:42:54,626 --> 00:42:59,585 {\an1}spending 23 hours in a cell, utterly alone. 913 00:42:59,710 --> 00:43:02,960 {\an1}♪ ♪ 914 00:43:03,085 --> 00:43:04,210 {\an1}[door slams] 915 00:43:04,335 --> 00:43:06,876 {\an1}You have to ask yourself, 916 00:43:07,043 --> 00:43:08,543 {\an1}was it all worth it?