Big Results from Small Starts
After the Welfare Reform Act went into effect, USDA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) formed a partnership with Kentucky's Attorney General and Kentucky state and local law enforcement agencies to pilot "Operation Talon" in Louisville and Lexington.
In May 1997, authorities
in Kentucky made the first 85 felony arrests, and the "Operation
Talon" pilot was declared a success. USDA then expanded the program
into other states, and astounding results followed.
In Hudson County, New Jersey, for example, County Sheriff's Department
agents and their USDA enforcement partners arrested 243 fugitive felons
by March 1998, saving taxpayers more than $800,000. More important,
two of the felons arrested were wanted for child molesting, one having
committed a sex offense against a nine-year old child.
In addition to being
fugitives, both were charged with violating Megan's Law requiring convicted
sex offenders to register with local law enforcement officials. Three
others were arrested for distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of a school
zone, including one fugitive wanted for major narcotics trafficking since
1988.
Today, "Operation Talon" has spread across the nation and is nabbing fugitives in 71 metropolitan areas in 24 states and the District of Columbia.
Law Enforcement Agents Outsmart the Crooks
The local implementation of "Operation Talon" has included a number of unique, carefully planned sting operations intended to nab fugitive felons while ensuring that legitimate Food Stamp Program applicants have safe, easy access to local welfare offices and services. In Washington, DC, for example, undercover officers dubbed their scheme "Casino Tours International." Special Agents from USDA's OIG -- aided by local Maryland police precincts, the Metro-Transit Police, the U. S. Marshals Service, and other state and local law enforcement partners -- invited fugitive felons to participate in a free bus tour junket to Atlantic City, New Jersey for a day of gambling. Lured by offers of a $50 stake and a free gym bag (bearing the logo of the sting operation), felons signed up and arrived early. To their surprise, however, law enforcement agents posing as tour personnel arrested them on the spot and drove their tour bus directly to jail!
