By Dan Horn
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The home of David Alden Fontaine on Anderson Ferry Road in Delhi Township. (Gary Landers photos) | ZOOM |

Sometimes, Alden Irish seemed like two different people.

One day, his neighbors say, the middle-aged businessman would be happy and outgoing, inviting them over for a burger on the back porch of his Delhi Township home.

The next day, he would ignore a friendly wave or yell at them for playing a stereo too loud.

"He was nice," said one neighbor, Sheila Roth. "But he was strange."

She and the other neighbors learned Monday that Mr. Irish had in fact been living a dual life for the past 26 years: One as a hard-working husband and father; the other as an escaped convict.

Fontaine

His real name is David Alden Fontaine, a fugitive who walked away from a Pennsylvania prison work detail in 1976 after serving only a few months of a four-year sentence for rape.

Sometime later he assumed the name of his father - Alden Irish - and moved to Cincinnati. He founded Irish Heating and Air Conditioning in North Fairmount, married at least three times and had a son.

"I've been here the whole time," Mr. Fontaine admitted to U.S. Marshals after his arrest Monday night.

Apparently, authorities say, he never told his secret to any of his family, friends or neighbors in Cincinnati.

"It's something that really shocked me," said Jerry Pasqualetti, a friend who lived next door to Mr. Fontaine. A few hours before his arrest, Mr. Pasqualetti said he saw Mr. Fontaine working in his yard and waved to him.

"I just said, `Hi, Alden,'" Mr. Pasqualetti recalled. "I still thought that was his name."

When police and U.S. marshals swarmed the house shortly after 6 p.m., he watched as his neighbor was led away in handcuffs.

Pasqualetti

Allen

U.S. marshals say the arrest followed several months of hard work by Pennsylvania state troopers assigned to a fugitive task force. After questioning Mr. Fontaine's stepfather and others who knew him, investigators learned Mr. Fontaine might be using his biological father's name as an alias.

A computer search found the name on an Ohio driver's license in Cincinnati, said John Patrick Patrignani, supervisor of the fugitive task force for the U.S. Marshals Service.

"We pulled the photo from the license and compared it to the old photos we had," Mr. Patrignani said. "It was him."

He said Mr. Fontaine must serve the remainder of his rape sentence and will likely face additional charges for the escape. "Any time you can close a case as cold as this one, you have to be relieved," Mr. Patrignani said.

Although Mr. Fontaine avoided capture for nearly three decades, he did not exactly keep a low profile in Cincinnati. He ran a successful business and was known to many in the community.

He also had a few brushes with the law. According to court records, he was arrested in January for driving under the influence. He was ordered to pay a $350 fine and to join an alcohol treatment program for at least two years.

Irish Heating and Cooling on Queen City Avenue in North Fairmount. | ZOOM |

He also was divorced twice before marrying his current wife, Lynda. Neighbors say one of his previous wives, Mary Kay, died before the divorce was final.

Some neighbors say the man they knew as Alden Irish rarely talked about his personal life or his past. But now that they know his history, they say they are glad he's gone.

"If all this is true, get him out of here," said Ms. Roth, who sometimes babysat for Mr. Fontaine's son. She said he could be very kind but also was "very controlling and manipulative" of those around him.

Earl Allen, who lives next-door to Irish Heating and Air Conditioning, said he had several run-ins with Mr. Fontaine. He said Mr. Fontaine failed to keep his property in good shape. And when he did do repairs, he tossed the debris into Mr. Allen's back yard.

"He's no good," Mr. Allen said. "He's a nasty guy. He might be nice to somebody else, but me and him didn't get along."

Mr. Pasqualetti, the next-door neighbor in Delhi, described Mr. Fontaine as a friend. He said Mr. Fontaine usually waved and said hello when he got home from work, and sometimes he invited him over for a cookout on his porch.

But their conversations never went beyond routine, friendly chats. Not once, Mr. Pasqualetti said, did his neighbor talk about his past.

"Maybe he had a conscience about it," Mr. Pasqualetti said of the old rape conviction and escape. "Maybe he thought about it."

He said he feels sorry for Mr. Fontaine's wife and 9-year-old son. But he's relieved his neighbor's secret is finally out.

"I guess you can run all you want," he said. "But sooner or later somebody is going to catch you."

E-mail dhorn@enquirer.com