Four years ago, New York chef Larry Zaitschek was named by the PSNI's Special Branch as the chief suspect for the break-in and robbery at its headquarters in Castlereagh in East Belfast.
No proceedings have followed, but Mr Zaitschek hasn't been allowed to see his then three- year-old son Pearse since.
"I am completely 100 per cent innocent," he said yesterday.
Now Mr Zaitschek has applied for a judicial review of the failure of North's Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to decide whether or not to prosecute him.
In a separate development, a judge in Belfast is to rule next week on whether or not he can hear a case which would determine custody and access issues.
A complaint about the PSNI's handling of Mr Zaitschek's case has also been lodged with the North's police ombudsman.
His ex-wife Lisa and her son, who is now seven, have been under a witness protection scheme since she provided evidence in the Castlereagh investigation.
"I need to see my son. I don't know where he is and I miss him so badly," Mr Zaitschek said this week. "They have no right to do this to him."
He returned to New York shortly after the raid. Two weeks later, Special Branch officers followed him. "They said, 'you did it'," he said. "I have been under constant pressure from them since."
He flew back to Ireland yesterday to consult with his Belfast lawyers. They met in Dundalk - the PSNI has said that if he returns to the North, he will be arrested.
In 2002, police said they had submitted a 3,000-page document containing the evidence against Mr Zaitschek to the PPS. However, no charges have been made and no attempt has been made to extradite him.
His lawyers will claim that he has suffered gross unfairness and that his human rights under the European Convention have been breached. Mr Zaitschek has the support of British and Irish Rights Watch. "I have already put it to the Chief Constable, Hugh Orde, that it is our belief that the PSNI has no case against this man," said its director, Jane Winter.
"I believe he is being used as a fig leaf to cover the official inability to deal with Castlereagh. Every time we go to the PPS they say they've had to send the file back to the PSNI for further information. No criminal justice system should take four years to reach a decision. The human cost of this is terrible."
Mr Zaitschek had worked as a chef at Castlereagh for four years before the raid, on St Patrick's Day 2002. He insists he has no IRA connections. "I had undergone stringent security checks before I got the job at Castlereagh ... I am a pacifist".