History - Fugitive Investigative Strike Teams
(FIST)
Fugitive Investigations - Creative Stings
No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
It seemed like a dream come true, winning
free tickets to the Redskins - Bengals' football game. But the dream
turned into a nightmare for about 100
"winners" when they arrived
to pick up their tickets.
The winners were arrested
by Deputy Marshals and
DC Metropolitan
Police officers.
The fugitives, wanted by authorities for a
variety of criminal offenses, willingly
gathered at the D.C. Convention Center
in response to "invitations" sent by the
Marshals Service to the last known addresses
of more than 3,000 wanted persons
with more than 5,000 outstanding
warrants.
The invitations, from a fictitious
firm (Flagship International Sports
Television, Inc.), offered free tickets to the
Washington Redskins home football game
against the Cincinnati Bengals.
To collect
their tickets, the fugitives were asked to
attend a free brunch, beginning at 9:00
a.m. on December 15, 1985 at the Washington
Convention Center where they would be
given the tickets, free transportation to
and from the game, and chances to win a
grand prize of an all expense paid trip to Superbowl XX in New Orleans.
The operation was the product of good
police work, a lot of imagination, and
excellent cooperation between the Metropolitan
Police Department and the Marshals
Service. A total of 166 law enforcement personnel,
drawn from the Metropolitan
Police Department and Marshals Service
personnel from the District of Columbia,
Northern Virginia, Maryland, Eastern
District of New York, and the Marshals
Service Special Operations Group, participated
in the operation. At the
Convention Center "brunch," they played
the roles of ushers and usherettes, cleaning
personnel, caterers, and officials of
Flagship International Sports Television.
Bernie Boston - Los Angeles times
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