Caretaker May Not Get Reward

MIAMI BEACH, July 24—Fernando Carreira, the Portuguese houseboat caretaker whose tipoff led police to Andrew P. Cunanan, may not be eligible for the $45,000 reward for the arrest of the suspected killer, police said today.

Carreira told local television, though, that he thinks he deserves the reward.

"I didn't know who it is, but I caught him. If it isn't because of me they didn't get him," Carreira told Miami's WSVN Fox TV affiliate.

Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Barreto told a news conference earlier today the caretaker's actions did not seem to correspond to terms of various rewards offered.

"It is not my understanding that the caretaker provided information specifically with the intent of telling us where Mr. Cunanan was," he said.

The FBI offered $10,000 to anyone who provided "information leading to the apprehension of Cunanan," one of their 10 most wanted fugitives.

Various Miami and Florida authorities and organizations pitched in the other $35,000.

Carreira said he believed Cunanan had not been in the boathouse for more than three or four days before he was cornered.

He checked the dwelling Saturday and found everything in order. On Wednesday, though, he saw that one of the door locks was open. He went inside and saw signs that someone was sleeping there, including a pair of sandals on the floor.

He drew his gun, then heard a shot from the upper level where Cunanan was later found dead, and ran.

He and his wife, Lucy, hid in the bushes outside and called 911 on his cellular phone but the call didn't go through. He called his son and told him to report the break-in to police.

Although Carreira said he did not see Cunanan, he believed the fugitive saw him and thought: "This is the police, I better shoot myself."