ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The oldest inmate in the New York state prison system was granted parole at age 89.
Charles Friedgood, a former Long Island heart surgeon, was convicted in 1976 of injecting his ailing wife Sophie with a fatal dose of the painkiller Demerol. He was arrested at Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to flee the country with more than $450,000 in cash, securities and valuables from his wife's estate.
A parole board denied Friedgood's fifth plea for release last month. But the Division of Parole, in an unusual move, ordered a new hearing. A different three-member board met with Friedgood at Woodbourne state prison in Sullivan County on Tuesday and granted him parole on a 2-1 vote.
