POLICE STING NETS POTENTIAL 'JOB SEEKERS'

BOSTON (AP) -- More than 100 people who received unsolicited job offers in
the mail showed up for promised excellent wages and benefits, with one man
arriving in a tuxedo, only to find out there was a price to be paid for the
free croissants.

The jobs were a scheme by police to catch fugitives with outstanding
warrants charging them with everything from assault to failure to show up
for jury duty.

Police arrested 102 people in Sunday's sting.

The Boston sting began when 14,000 fugitives got letters from "Madrid
International Ltd.," an employment agency looking for workers for the city's
"Big Dig" construction project.

Excellent wages, union benefits and the option of working part time were
mentioned in a letter, accompanied by an application form.

The vast majority of fugitives either didn't respond to the enticement or
could not be found.

On Sunday, as the job hunters were welcomed by Madrid's leader -- a police
captain dressed in a business suit -- officers flooded the room. A few tried
to bolt but no one escaped.

The crimes involved included assault, robbery, drug offenses, welfare fraud
and child support violations.