Operation April Fools draws suspects into arrest trap

It seems that greed, like love, is blind.

Dozens of wanted suspects, who had successfully avoided warrants servers in some cases for years, fell for the phony offer of cash - even after an online warning - and came forward on their own with dollar signs in their eyes.

But when they reached for their promised government stimulus checks, they instead got handcuffs and a free trip to the pokey.

"It was the lure of easy money," said Tampa Police Maj. John Newman. "Greed is king."

The $653.23 stimulus checks were a ruse to get the scofflaws to come out of their underground lives and step into the light, according to a consortium of law enforcement officers who set up the fake West Central Florida Stimulus Coalition. Most suspects came from Tampa and Hillsborough County; at least one came all the way from Lakeland and one drove up from Venice.

One by one, they were led into a back room, expecting to get checks. There, they were greeted by a half-dozen plain-clothes officers, one of whom wore a T-shirt with the words "U Big Dummy" written over a picture of Fred G. Sanford from the television series "Sanford and Son."

Investigators arrested 34 people during Operation April Fools. The two-day operation ended today.

The idea is not new. In the past, agencies have sent notices to wanted people offering television sets and tickets to baseball games, only to take them into custody when they showed up. Newman said the local task force stole the stimulus check ploy from police in Broward County.

A cyberspace warning wasn't enough to alert the flock that got arrested.

At least one person caught on to the ruse, warning people on Yahoo! that, "This is a scam to get you there and arrest you. No web-site. No official seal on letter and stimulus checks would come from the government. I did follow up from a friend who got a letter. Letter is sent to those who have warrants!!"

Police had sent letters to 1,300 suspects telling them they were receiving a stimulus check. The people were told to call a number and make an appointment to get the check. Sixty-two people did.

They were directed to show up at a storefront, a vacant Payless Shoes store in a strip mall on Fowler Avenue. The landowner donated the use of the store; all police had do was raid their offices for the furniture and stage the trap.

Tampa police and Florida Department of Corrections officers, Hillsborough sheriff's deputies and the U.S. marshals worked on the operation.

Those nabbed were wanted on a variety of charges ranging from grand theft to writing worthless checks, to driving on a suspended license. Charged drug dealers came in along with accused robbers and thugs.

Newman said no one tried to run. The closest anyone came was a man who just sat down in the door to the back, refusing to move.

Newman said all the suspects were cautious.

"They'd circle the block trying to get a smell for it," he said.

Only one balked.

"He pulled up, looked and didn't like what he saw," Newman said. The man drove off and officers were unable to identify who he was.

Newman said it was challenging for officers to remain in character.

"It was hard to keep a straight face at times," he said.

Newman said the suspects were fooled but tried to reclaim their cool once arrested.

"They'd strike this cavalier attitude and tell us they knew it was a trap," he said.

Newman said friends and relatives of those wanted tried to make appointments after reading the letter.

Authorities said it was an efficient way to corral those they spent so much time seeking.

"Something like this only cost us a 44 cent stamp," Newman said.