POLICE USE FOOD STAMP ROLLS TO CAPTURE FUGITIVES

WASHINGTON (AP) Criminals can run but they cannot hide especially if
they are on the food stamp rolls.

In a sweep made legal by last year's welfare law, authorities in 24 cities
captured nearly 2,200 fugitives by examining food stamp records. It saved
taxpayers an estimated $3.1 million.

Vice President Al Gore announced Thursday that the computer crossmatching
program will be expanded nationwide in the coming months. ``We want to
provide a safety net for the needy, not a hammock for fugitives and
felons,'' Gore said at a White House event attended by state and local
police officials.

Before the new welfare law, privacy protections made it illegal for police
to check food stamp rolls. Fugitives were not specifically prohibited from
obtaining the benefits.

That was changed effective in August 1996. The Agriculture Department's
inspector general then launched ``Operation Talon'' 11 months ago in
cooperation with specific local police departments. The first 85 fugitives
were arrested in June in Louisville and Lexington, Ky.

Some of the roundups were elaborate sting operations. In Chicago, Cook
County Sheriff Michael Sheahan said his officers set up a fake ``government
consulting firm'' to contact fugitives and tell them their food stamp
benefits would run out unless they came down for an interview.

``Once the offenders believed their benefits were in jeopardy, the calls
started pouring in,'' Sheahan said.

The fictitious firm's name was ``Tsera & Marant,'' a play on the words
``arrest warrant.'' Some fugitives even accepted free rides in what turned
out to be a police van that took them straight to jail.

The Chicago sweep was responsible for 470 of the 2,199 arrests made under
the program. Among those arrested were 19 people accused of murder or
attempted murder, 10 fleeing childmolestation charges and seven accused of
rape. More than 600 of the cases involved drugs.

``We knew it would work,'' Gore said. ``They want that address to be honest
when it is put on an envelope with money in it.''

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said the arrests saved taxpayers $3.1
million, assuming each fugitive obtained food stamps for a full year. More
importantly, he said, the program helps keep public confidence and trust in
the $1.9 billion program that is helping feed 20.1 million Americans this
year.