LOCKPORT — As he had done for months on his Facebook page, while on the lam,

Christopher K. Crego continued to taunt police when he returned to City Court this afternoon

after his arrest in Indiana last month.

Crego — who skipped town to avoid sentencing on an assault conviction and also faces

an animal abuse charge — was all smiles when he first walked into the courtroom.

That changed when City Judge William Watson set bail — at $1 million.

"I can assume I will not be getting out or ROR'd," Crego cracked before Watson imposed the

steep amount.

The judge did not release Crego on his own recognizance. Instead, he set $500,000 bail in

the assault case and $500,000 more on a new charge Crego faces: bail jumping.

All the charges against Crego, 39, formerly of Sunset Drive in the Town of Lockport, are

misdemeanors that carry a sentence of up to a year in jail.

Crego was considered one of the city's "10 Most Wanted" when he was arrested Feb. 3 by U.S.

marshals in Terre Haute, Ind., after his social networking pages, including Facebook and

MySpace, created the roadmap for investigators.

Online, Crego listed his work hours at an Indiana tattoo parlor, boasted of his wanted

status and past criminal history, and predicted he would not be brought back to serve time.

Crego appeared today without an attorney.

Watson told Niagara County Assistant District Attorney Joseph Scalzo that he was "not

allowed by law" to hold Crego without bail on misdemeanor charges, but he made it nearly

impossible for Crego, who left Western New York last fall, to get out jail while charges are

pending.

Crego didn't show up last Oct. 14 for his sentencing on a plea bargain to third-degree

assault. He originally was charged with second-degree assault and weapons possession, accused

of beating a city pizzeria owner Nov. 29, 2008, outside a bar on West Avenue.

Patrick Petrie Jr., the owner of Fratelli's Pizza, next door to the bar, tried to intervene

as Crego argued with a woman. Crego struck him in the eye with a beer bottle. The injury

required surgery.

City police Capt. Richard Podgers, chief of detectives, said the district attorney's office

sent two of his officers to Indiana to pick up Crego due to the violent nature of the crime.

"This was a person who did nothing to warrant being beaten," Podgers said. "Had it been

just a property crime, [we wouldn't have pursued it]. But through no fault of his own,

[Petrie] was maliciously beaten and his life was impacted by this."

Crego was charged last August with driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana,

and had pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving while ability impaired.

"That was taken care of," he told the judge today, but Watson said Crego failed to get

treatment and serve community service that was part of the terms of the plea bargain. He fined

Crego $1,000.

Crego also faces an animal abuse charge in Buffalo.

Despite being jolted by his bail amount, Crego continued some defiance both before and

after court proceedings.

"It's just misdemeanor charges," he said before court. "I'll be done in five months."

He also taunted Podgers, saying he plans to marry the police captain's niece, whom he had

been dating in Indiana.

Podgers said he learned of their "connection" after someone told him to check Crego's wall

on Facebook.

"It doesn't matter to me in the least...," Podgers said. My niece has been out of this area

for 20 years, I haven't seen her in the past seven years. I don't care what she does. It's not

personal, it's just justice being served."

Podgers told The Buffalo News last month he considered nominating Crego for "America's

Dumbest Criminal." He said this week that Crego's social networking sites have since been

closed or locked.