History - Fugitive Investigative Strike Teams
(FIST)
Fugitive Investigations - Creative Stings FIST VIII - 1985
The United States Marshals Service,
38 Florida law enforcement agencies
and 12 foreign countries
captured 3,816
fugitives in the eighth FIST operation in 1985.

Former Attorney General Edwin Meese and former
Marshals Service Director Stanley E. Morris conducted a press conference
at the Biscayne Bay Marriott in Miami on June 19, 1985. The conference
was attended by 27 other officials representing Florida and foreign
agencies, as well as approximately 40 national and international news
media representatives.
Law enforcement personnel based in
Miami, with teams set up in Pompano
Beach, Tampa, Tallahassee, Orlando,
and Jacksonville, nabbed 48 accused or
convicted murderers, 20 kidnappers,
61 rapists, 167 robbers and 593 major
narcotics traffickers. Forty-eight
weapons were seized, including handguns,
shotguns, rifles and machine guns.
The Caribbean command site was
located in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin
Islands, with Marshals Service personnel
operating in Antigua, Anguilla,
Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands,
CuracadAruba, Costa Rica, Dominican
Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique,
and Puerto Rico.
Two hundred eleven
foreign, state, local and Marshals Service
personnel participated in the
roundup which began on April 1, 1985. The
fugitives arrested in this operation had
11,559 prior arrests or convictions,
averaging 3.03 per subject.
The total cost of FIST VIII was
$3,545,264, or an average of $929 per
arrest. This was in keeping with the
relatively low cost of past FIST
operations.

Special operations group members display weapons and
equipment carried in vans when called out to assist on an arrest.
At lower left is a battering ram designed by special operations
personnel and at right is the emergency extraction device, "jaws of
Life".
Another element of FIST VIII that
differed from past operations was the
inclusion of the Services' Special Operations
Group (SOG) as an operational element
at the Miami site. SOG teams were
called out over 100 times to handle
potential problem arrests, and provided
valuable tactical support in situations
where suspects were believed to be
heavily armed or residences were
barricaded.

Special Operations Group members take custody of
fugitive hit man wanted by French authorities.
Sting operations continued in FIST
VIII with free prizes and trips luring over 14 fugitives.
In Miami, "PuEo
Airlines" was set up and letters were
sent to fugitives telling them that they
had won a free flight, a weekend in
the Bahafnas, and $350 in spending
money. A ticket counter was set up at
Miami International Airport next to the
Air Haiti ticket counter to add to the
realism of the scam.
All but one of the sting fugitives,
Marshall Wolfman, were arrested in a
limousine after being picked up at their
residence for a ride to the airport.
Wolfman was arrested when he arrived
at the ticket counter to board his
"flight". |
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