Thang Thanh Nguyen

Thang Thanh Nguyen (born March 20, 1969) is a Vietnamese convicted murderer who spent sixteen months on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List for the 1992 robbery and murder of businessman Chung Lam in Irondequoit, New York. He was added to the list on August 3, 1996, and was arrested in Vietnam on December 22, 1997. He was convicted the following year and sentenced to life imprisonment, but in 2003 his sentence was reduced to 25 years to life on appeal.

Early life Nguyen is a native of Sóc Trăng, Vietnam, having been born there on March 20, 1969. He first entered the United States in 1984 and became a citizen. He worked as a restaurant cook and was an active gambler.

Murder One establishment he worked at was the Saigon Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant, owned by 39-year-old Vietnamese immigrant Chung Lam in Irondequoit, New York. He then moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where he befriended Thoan Van Luc and brothers Vu Ngo and Sang Ngo of Wichita, Kansas. One of the other men shot one of Lam's brothers.

The four then ransacked the whole house stealing money and jewelry. During the gunfire, Sang Ngo was shot accidentally. All four fled the home while Sang went to the hospital. Police were called and Lam was rushed to the Rochester General Hospital, but he died at 4:52 a.m. from his wound.

Investigation Sang, suffering from a bullet wound he could not explain, was immediately implicated in the crime and arrested. He confessed, with Vu and Thoan being arrested not long after. All three were convicted of burglary and given lengthy prison terms.

Nguyen was indicted on a murder charge by a Monroe County grand jury. Investigators had accused Nguyen of being the ringleader of the murder. On August 3, 1996, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) charged Nguyen with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and added him to their Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List as number 446. He was extradited to the U.S. in January 1998. He was charged with second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery. Nguyen and his lawyers argued to a judge that he had been "illegally apprehended" and "forced to confess".