Nightly News   |  April 20, 2012

Alan Gross: ‘Get me the hell out of here’

The U.S. government contractor, who was imprisoned two years ago for bringing communications equipment into Cuba for a U.S. government democracy project, called NBC’s Andrea Mitchell from jail in Havana.

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>> held captive in cuba for years now. allen gross gets precisely one phone call a week, usually to hear the voices of his wife and daughters back home. today, he used the one weekly phone call to make a desperate plea to our own anld rhea mitchell who is with us tonight from washington to share the details on this tonight. andrea, good evening.

>> brian, i was certainly surprised. i did not solicit this at all. i asked gross good he had any message to send, and his message, get me the hell out of here. senator pat leahy visited him who was sentenced to 15 years for bringing communications equipment into cuba . cuba said in violation of their strict laws. today, he told me, quote, i did nothing legally or morally wrong. i have no guilty conscious. he's been pleaing for parole to visit his ailing 90-year-old mother. gross told me, quote, it's no longer about cuban/u.s. relations. it's about my family and me. he does get that one call a week, usually to his wife judy who sends him packages with the sunday "new york times," the economist, and his favorite snack, peanut m & ms. she didn't mind his call ime because she wants to get the word out about his plight.

>> andrea mitchell who has asked cuban officials about this case after the surprise phone call today. andrea, thanks.