Marshal Wolfman arrested at Puno Airlines - USMS Photo

In 1985, the Fugitive Investigative Strike Team VIII, part of the

United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

, set up Puño Airlines, a

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to lure wanted criminals into the open where they could be arrested – by sending a letter suggesting the fugitive had won a free flight, a weekend in

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, and $350 in spending money. In total, 200 fugitives were sent the offer, and 14 were arrested after showing up to claim their winnings.Robins, Charlie. "Just another sting in the mail", '' Gainesville Sun'', June 25, 1985 The FIST VIII had set up a ''Puño Airlines'' (''puño'' is

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for "fist") booth beside Air Haiti in

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, and did not tell any of the airport employees about the

sting operation In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a rol ...

. They then offered to send a limo to pick up the "winners" and bring them to the airport, to which 13 fugitives agreed."Creative stings"

Police later said that offering a drive to the airport helped ensure that suspects would not carry weapons, knowing there was a

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before boarding their flights. Two of the arrested fugitives did not realise the nature of the operation: one phoned from prison to ask if he could reschedule his flight, while another begged cops to "take care of this next week", noting she had won a trip and wanted to enjoy her vacation first. Marshall Wolfman turned up at the airport himself, but stood approximately 100 yards away from Puño Airlines, eyeing it suspiciously. After FIST VIII arranged to page a fictitious name to the counter over the

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, Wolfman presented himself at the replica ticket booth. Wolfman was wanted for theft of a rental car.Rowand, Andrea. "Undercover project FIST nets 3,000-plus fugitives", '' St. Petersburg Times'', June 17, 1985 Konrāds Kalējs, a Latvian accused of collaboration with the

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s, was also arrested in the operation."Retired US Marshals Association", Turner Publishing, p. 25

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puno Airlines Front organizations United States Marshals Service