An ex-convict who took part in the kidnapping of late shipowner Pericles Panagopoulos 11 years ago has resurfaced in Greece, representing potential investors in a football club.
Apostolos Petrakis, one of several people tried for abducting the shipowner, was sentenced to 18 years in jail but ultimately served only eight.
Earlier this week, news emerged that he is taking a leading role with Doxa Drama Football Club, a second-league team in the country’s north.
Reacting to media outcry over his public role, Petrakis spoke to sports journalists to defend himself, saying he deserves a second chance.
“I broke the law and I paid dearly for my mistakes,” he told Metropolis, a Greek radio station.
He justified his involvement in Doxa Drama, saying he is no stranger to football, having played and served as an official in several minor league teams.
Doing what he loves
“I have to be able to keep doing what I love doing without being on trial all the time,” Petrakis said.
He also clarified that he is not buying the team himself, as several media outlets have reported, but merely advising a pair of unidentified businessmen who are about to do so. Under Greek law, his criminal past bars him from taking a leading role in a club.
Panagopoulos spent about a week in captivity and was released after his family paid a ransom, believed to be about €30m ($36m). He was 73 years old at the time.
The visionary Greek owner died in February 2019.
The ransom was never recovered.
Asked whether some of the Panagopoulos extortion money might be about to be invested in Doxa Drama's purchase, Petrakis said: "What am I supposed to answer to that question ... It's like asking me to prove I'm not an elephant".
