Book Fingered Alleged War Criminal

Police Use Biography To Find Fugitive Linked To Croatian War Crimes

(AP) 
Gotovina went into hiding four years ago when the U.N. War Crimes Court in The Hague indicted him for orchestrating the killing of 150 Serbs and expulsion of 150,000 others during Croatia's 1995 offensive to recapture areas seized by rebel Serbs in 1991.

Croatian newspapers have speculated on his whereabouts ever since he went into hiding, placing him under ex-Legionnaires' protection in southern France or even with the mafia in southern Italy.

Spanish authorities said his passport suggested "a high level of mobility," carrying stamps from Tahiti, Argentina, China, Chile, Russia, the Czech Republic and Mauritius.

His pursuers may have gleaned a valuable tip from a biography published by one of his supporters during his years on the run. It said that he had once before taken refuge in the Canary Islands to recuperate from injuries in a battle when he was a French Legionnaire. While he was there he fished, sailed and had a romantic liaison with a schoolteacher who gave him Spanish lessons.

Del Ponte said Thursday she had known since September that Gotovina was in Spain, though she kept it secret. Croatian media said Croatian intelligence services played a crucial role in tracking him down and Western officials thanked Croatian authorities for helping to find him. Some said the CIA also was involved.

There was also speculation that a Croatian businessman disclosed his whereabouts in return for authorities dropping criminal charges against him. Hrvoje Petrac, who allegedly financed Gotovina's hiding, was arrested in Greece in September.