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Operation Flagship
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Operation Flagship
Operation Flagship was a sting operation jointly organized by the United States Marshals Service and the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. that resulted in the arrest of 101 wanted fugitives on December 15, 1985.
The fugitives voluntarily went to the Washington Convention Center, responding to an invitation sent by the fictitious television company Flagship International Sports Television, (which had the same initials, F.I.S.T., as Fugitive Investigative Strike Team) to claim two free tickets to watch the Washington Redskins American football home game against the Cincinnati Bengals and for a chance to win tickets to Super Bowl XX. A total of 166 marshals and police officers were involved in the operation, with undercover personnel posing as tuxedo-wearing ushers, cheerleaders, emcees, caterers, mascots, and maintenance staff.
The operation has been hailed as one of the largest and most successful mass arrests of fugitives by U.S. law enforcement.
From 1981 to 1986, the U.S. Marshals Service conducted a series of nine operations called Fugitive Investigative Strike Team (FIST) operations, with the aim of capturing thousands of wanted fugitives in the United States.
One tactic the U.S. Marshals used to lure fugitives were "get-something-for-nothing" schemes which were often quite successful. This was demonstrated in 1984 when U.S. Marshals conducted FIST VII, a large-scale operation spanning over two months and eight states that resulted in the arrest of 3,309 fugitives. In New York City, fugitives were sent a notice from the fictitious Brooklyn Bridge Delivery Service to pick up their "valuable" packages. In Buffalo, fugitives were notified that they had won between $250 and $10,000 in a lottery. In Hartford, Connecticut, younger fugitives were notified that they had won two free tickets to a Boy George concert, including dinner for two and the use of a limousine. In all cases, the fugitives were arrested when they tried to claim their packages or prizes at specified locations. For the marshals, arresting fugitives while away from home was significantly safer as they are often caught unarmed and off-guard.
At least half of the 3,309 fugitives arrested in FIST VII were later released on bail.
For Operation Flagship, while having dinner, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Tobias P. Roche (District of Columbia) and U.S. Marshal Herbert M. Rutherford III (District of Columbia) noted the uproar of support for the Washington Redskins, particularly the difficulty in acquiring tickets for their sold-out home games and the fact that the waiting list for season tickets lasted several years. They particularly focused on the much-anticipated December 15 game between the Redskins and the Bengals, the winner of which would determine who would go to the playoffs.
In November 1985, Roche with the approval of Rutherford, instructed deputy U.S. Marshals and fugitive task force members of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to mail invitations to the last known addresses of approximately 3,000 wanted persons. The invitations were sent by the fictitious firm Flagship International Sports Television, which shares the same acronym with Fugitive Investigative Strike Team. The recipients were told that as part of the firm's promotional offer, they had won two complimentary tickets to the Redskins-Bengals game and that they were invited to a pre-game brunch at the Washington Convention Center on the morning of December 15, 1985. The recipients were also told they could enter a raffle draw to win 10 season tickets for the Washington Redskins and the grand prize of a week-long, all expenses paid trip to New Orleans to watch Super Bowl XX.
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Operation Flagship
Operation Flagship was a sting operation jointly organized by the United States Marshals Service and the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. that resulted in the arrest of 101 wanted fugitives on December 15, 1985.
The fugitives voluntarily went to the Washington Convention Center, responding to an invitation sent by the fictitious television company Flagship International Sports Television, (which had the same initials, F.I.S.T., as Fugitive Investigative Strike Team) to claim two free tickets to watch the Washington Redskins American football home game against the Cincinnati Bengals and for a chance to win tickets to Super Bowl XX. A total of 166 marshals and police officers were involved in the operation, with undercover personnel posing as tuxedo-wearing ushers, cheerleaders, emcees, caterers, mascots, and maintenance staff.
The operation has been hailed as one of the largest and most successful mass arrests of fugitives by U.S. law enforcement.
From 1981 to 1986, the U.S. Marshals Service conducted a series of nine operations called Fugitive Investigative Strike Team (FIST) operations, with the aim of capturing thousands of wanted fugitives in the United States.
One tactic the U.S. Marshals used to lure fugitives were "get-something-for-nothing" schemes which were often quite successful. This was demonstrated in 1984 when U.S. Marshals conducted FIST VII, a large-scale operation spanning over two months and eight states that resulted in the arrest of 3,309 fugitives. In New York City, fugitives were sent a notice from the fictitious Brooklyn Bridge Delivery Service to pick up their "valuable" packages. In Buffalo, fugitives were notified that they had won between $250 and $10,000 in a lottery. In Hartford, Connecticut, younger fugitives were notified that they had won two free tickets to a Boy George concert, including dinner for two and the use of a limousine. In all cases, the fugitives were arrested when they tried to claim their packages or prizes at specified locations. For the marshals, arresting fugitives while away from home was significantly safer as they are often caught unarmed and off-guard.
At least half of the 3,309 fugitives arrested in FIST VII were later released on bail.
For Operation Flagship, while having dinner, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Tobias P. Roche (District of Columbia) and U.S. Marshal Herbert M. Rutherford III (District of Columbia) noted the uproar of support for the Washington Redskins, particularly the difficulty in acquiring tickets for their sold-out home games and the fact that the waiting list for season tickets lasted several years. They particularly focused on the much-anticipated December 15 game between the Redskins and the Bengals, the winner of which would determine who would go to the playoffs.
In November 1985, Roche with the approval of Rutherford, instructed deputy U.S. Marshals and fugitive task force members of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to mail invitations to the last known addresses of approximately 3,000 wanted persons. The invitations were sent by the fictitious firm Flagship International Sports Television, which shares the same acronym with Fugitive Investigative Strike Team. The recipients were told that as part of the firm's promotional offer, they had won two complimentary tickets to the Redskins-Bengals game and that they were invited to a pre-game brunch at the Washington Convention Center on the morning of December 15, 1985. The recipients were also told they could enter a raffle draw to win 10 season tickets for the Washington Redskins and the grand prize of a week-long, all expenses paid trip to New Orleans to watch Super Bowl XX.
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