Elusive 'Houdini' suspect who escaped from cops is recaptured

Jose Rodriguez, the “Houdini” who eluded cops by speeding away in their unmarked car while shackled and handcuffed, was recaptured early Thursday at a Connecticut hotel.

Police tracked his cell phone calls to the Microtel Hotel and Suites in Uncasville, Conn., and he reportedly gave up without a fight A Connecticut judge set his bond at $100,000. Rodriguez, who has a history of convictions including DWI and possession of marijuana, will be taken to the 43rd Precinct in the Bronx, where police want to question him in connection with a Nov. 1 shooting.

A woman, believed to have driven Rodriguez to the hotel, was also taken into custody.

Rodriguez’s daring escapade began Wednesday when cops arrested him at a Holiday Inn in Fort Lee, N.J., and left him shackled and cuffed in the back of their unmarked car as they searched his SUV. Rodriguez allegedly wriggled into the front seat and drove away, leaving the restraints inside the police vehicle, which was found five miles away in Ridgefield, N.J.