A disgraced Holyoke city councilor who is wanted in court on child pornography charges has purportedly fled the country and is now serving in the Russian army, according to a video posted to pro-Kremlin media.
Wilmer Puello-Mota was ordered to appear in court in January. But days before the start of his trial, he boarded a flight to Istanbul, according to court records. A video posted Wednesday to a Russian social media channel reportedly shows the 28-year-old signing a contract to officially join the country’s armed services as it enters its 25th month of war against Ukraine.
The short video appears to show Puello-Mota, clad in a puffy North Face jacket and khakis, walking through a snowy parking lot to a new military recruitment office and receiving a firm handshake from Russian military brass. The recruitment office was geolocated by the Globe to the city of Khanty-Mansiysk in the oil-rich region of Western Siberia. The facility, named the “Center of Russian Patriots,” was opened in January 2024, according to local media reports.
Advertisement
The man believed to be Puello-Mota speaks directly to the camera, delivering a monologue in English, with Russian subtitles and dramatic background music, about how honored he is to be joining Russia’s “special military operation” and helping Russia to “continue the mission.” He also speaks of his experiences earlier this year with the Russian military.
He is not explicitly identified in the video, but Russian media reports refer to the new army member as “Wil.”
The Globe could not verify the authenticity of the video or confirm Puello-Mota’s whereabouts. But the video does not appear to bear any telltale signatures of a deep fake, based on a review by special artificial intelligence software.
And people in Massachusetts, including his former colleagues in Holyoke, say there is little doubt the man on the video is Puello-Mota.
“Hey I’m no computer expert, but the video I saw? That’s Wil in it. It looks like Wil. It sounds like Wil,“ said Holyoke City Councilor David K. Bartley, who considered Puello-Mota to be a good friend. “He looks good and healthy. It is a stunning turn of events.”
Advertisement
“I am 100 percent sure,” echoed fellow Councilor Juan C. Anderson-Burgos.
The independent Russian outlet Agentstvo, which first reported on the video, also said it conducted an external analysis to verify Puello-Mota’s identity.
Puello-Mota was first arrested in May 2020 in Warwick, R.I. He had called police to report his firearm had been stolen at a hotel, but when the officers arrived they learned he planned to meet a 17-year-old minor he’d communicated with online. Police searched his phone and found nude photos and videos of the girl. The girl told police Puello-Mota had given her money, confirmed by evidence of the payments. Puello-Mota told police he believed the girl was 22.
Puello-Mota was accused of child pornography. He faces additional charges of obstruction of the judicial system, forgery, and counterfeiting for forging documents meant to deceive his commanders in the Massachusetts Air National Guard and to secure a favorable disposition on the child porn charges. Puello-Mota served as a former security forces technical sergeant with the Guard until October 2022.
Massachusetts State Police arrested him again on May 11, 2022, at the entrance of Barnes Air National Guard Base on the forgery charges. After the ignominious saga, the Holyoke City Council tried to remove Puello-Mota from his seat, but he won a lawsuit that allowed him to remain on the council until his term expired in December.
He was released on $20,000 bail and set to face trial this January. Days before that trial date, prosecutors say, he flew to Washington and then to Turkey.
Murmurs that he had ended up in Russia surfaced in early March when another video circulated on the messaging platform Telegram depicting a blurred man in Russian uniform planting the US flag in what it claimed was the destroyed Ukrainian city of Avdiivka.
Advertisement
“We need to support Russia. We have to have friendship. We have to make sure that the goals that have been set out are accomplished,” said the man. “Here is Old Glory, the US flag. I hope that people back home see it.”
See it, they did. The man’s distinctive voice — discerned to be similar to that of the former councilor — caught the attention of those in Holyoke, the Springfield Republican reported.
Still, authorities in Rhode Island treated the clip with suspicion.
“The state has received photos and videos purporting to be the defendant in Russia and Ukraine, where he is alleged to have joined the Russian military. While the state cannot verify the authenticity of the videos and photographs, if they are accurate the defendant is well beyond the jurisdiction of this court and, if false, the defendant is engaged in an elaborate ruse to conceal his whereabouts,” prosecutors said in a motion filed in Rhode Island Superior Court shortly after the video went live.
The latest video, posted in the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel titled “Release the Kraken,” appears to confirm the claim. His contract, and accompanying endorsement of the Russian cause in Ukraine, were touted by pro-Kremlin propagandists.
Text accompanying one message read: “Wil is staunchly convinced of the need to support Russia and admires the tenacity and heroism of our soldiers. After the capture of Avdiivka, the American hoisted his American flag over the city next to the Russian one as a sign of solidarity.”
A translated article in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper published by the government, said: “Vil calls Khanty-Mansiysk a wonderful city and a wonderful place to finalize the contract.”
Advertisement
The Globe reached out to a Facebook profile in Puello-Mota’s name on Thursday but did not receive a response. The profile lists him as a graduate of Holyoke High School. It lists his employer as the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Nick Stoico of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Hanna Krueger can be reached at hanna.krueger@globe.com. Follow her @hannaskrueger.