Devlin Altobelo, 38, a convicted armed robber, grew up in Harlem and says he comes from a good family.

As a teenager, Altobelo was a promising high school basketball player who competed against the Russian National Basketball team in 1984.

During his late teens, however, Altobelo's life changed. "I started getting mixed up with drug activity, being a 'boiler,'" he says. "A boiler means somebody big time." His involvement in crime caused him to lose several scholarship opportunities and alienated him from his father.

Altobelo says if he hadn't been an athlete, he would have never survived the streets. But he coudn't outrun the justice system, and he spent most of his twenties in prison for armed robbery.

Altobelo's jail term ended 16 months ago, and he says that his inclination to commit crimes has ended too. He attributes his new attitude to lessons he learned in prison and at his new job.

For the past six months, Altobelo has worked for Wildcat Service Corp., on contract to the Alliance for Downtown New York. Although he likes his street maintenance job, he wishes he were paid more.

Altobelo still sees friends from his old days on occasion, but mostly he spends as much time as possible with his co-workers, his family and his girlfriend.

Click to hear about Altobelo's plans (18 seconds).