On February 8th the notorious criminal Niccolo Benidito, also known as Machiavelli, was released from Arizona State maximum-security prison on parole. He was serving a twenty-year sentence for robbery, assault, and conspiracy to break the law. Machiavelli had been the leader of the famous super villain team known as the Order of Evil and Tyranny, who had fought the Order of Freedom and Liberty back in the late seventies and early eighties.
Machiavelli, while not a super powered individual, is known for having a genius level I.Q. and one of the most efficient tactical minds alive today. He had bested nearly all of the world's chess masters by the time he was fifteen. It would be only ten years later when he would turn his efforts towards crime. He made his first appearance in 1977, challenging Captain Infinity and other superheroes. Only a year later did Machiavelli create his own team of super villains, one designed to rival the power of the Order of Freedom and Liberty.
The Order of Evil and Tyranny was comprised of the most feared and powerful super villains of the time. Among those villains were Black Anne, Foxbat, Shamrock, Archer, and Beamline. The Order of Evil would challenge the Order of Freedom several times over the next five years, usually with members of the Order of Evil being captured. Machiavelli continued to remain free until 1983 when Captain Infinity and Doctor Killdare caught him.
The trial of Machiavelli would take nearly a year to complete. Many of the crimes that he was accused of did not have enough evidence to convict Machiavelli. Ultimately he was convicted of conspiracy through his Order of Evil, and guilty of assault and battery and robbery, again through the Order of Evil and Tyranny. The original sentence was twenty years.
Machiavelli was, according to the parole board, extremely well behaved in prison. He kept to himself and spent the majority of his time in the prison library. The warden of Arizona State Prison stated he was the model prisoner. His psychiatric tests also show that he is ready to be released into the outside world. He will be living the last five years of his sentence in Flagstaff, AZ, under parole.
—Richard Reese
WRITE TO US
what do you think?
Do you have what it takes to be a superhero?
Copyright © 2000 Adam Fisher.
