U.S. marshals bring in most of the bad guys

By Larry Margasak

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — One fugitive was arrested at his wedding rehearsal dinner. Another was betrayed by his missing pinkie finger. A restaurant’s sparkling clean windows led to another apprehension.

These are among the prized captures of the U.S. Marshals Service, an agency that pursues its own "Top 15" fugitives but doesn’t get the attention afforded the FBI.

In December, the Marshals’ distribution of wanted posters to Kinko’s copy stores paid off when employees in Springdale, Ohio, recognized Clayton Lee Waagner — an escaped convict suspected of mailing hundreds of anthrax hoax letters to abortion clinics.

Nonetheless, Waagner was known mainly as a figure on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list, where he was also named. He previously had been sentenced to 27 years on federal charges of transporting a stolen vehicle and illegal possession of a firearm; and 37 months for escaping from an Illinois jail.

"It probably is somewhat frustrating to the marshals," said Jim Pasco, spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police, the nationwide law enforcement officers’ labor organization.

"They have the major role in apprehending federal fugitives. But their visibility and ability to reach the general public is secondary at best to the FBI because of its great name recognition and long-standing good relationships with the media."

The Marshals’ and FBI lists of top fugitives are chosen separately by each agency from recommendations made by offices around the country. Although the FBI is heavily engaged in criminal investigations, it’s the Marshals Service that usually hunts fugitives down.

That pursuit often means years of following trails and techniques that range from sophisticated electronic surveillance to old-fashioned wanted posters.

In September 1997, three deputy U.S. marshals were on the trail of drug trafficker Carl Hach when they heard that he and another man were cleaning windows in Rhinelander, Wis.

At a local restaurant, the three officers remarked to the waitress about its sparkling windows. She said two men had just washed them.

The officers drove around until they spotted a ladder against a McDonald’s — and found their man. Hach was convicted in March 1998 and sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.

In November 1999, deputy Marshal Bob Holtz was at a Pittsburgh YMCA when he had a chance encounter with Martin Agurs, who had been on the lam for 19 years.

Holtz had been searching for Agurs but was looking for someone else that day. Agurs, who had convictions for sexual assault, armed robbery, bank robbery, drugs and weapons violations, had two telltale physical conditions: He weighed 300 pounds and was missing his right pinkie.

While the deputy was talking to the YMCA desk clerk, he thought he recognized Agurs from a wanted picture. Agurs reached for his mail, showing his missing finger, and the chase was over. He pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced to three to 10 years.

U.S. Marshals in the Northwest

In October 2000, U.S. Marshals were pursuing James Rowe on firearms charges and accusations of impersonating a deputy marshal. He had claimed, falsely, to be a U.S. Navy SEAL, an Army special forces officer, a federal drug agent, a professional skier and an NFL football player.

Rowe was arrested at his wedding rehearsal dinner. He was wearing a Super Bowl ring he had purchased for $3,000 at a sports memorabilia shop.

He pleaded guilty in federal court to the firearms and impersonation charges and is awaiting sentencing in Seattle.

The marshals ran down a top-15 fugitive last summer in Mexico.

Daniel Escobedo, 36 years before his capture, was the plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Miranda v. Arizona, which requires police to advise those under arrest of their rights, including the right to remain silent.

In 1964, Escobedo’s murder conviction was thrown out because he confessed to the crime without being advised of his right to have a lawyer present.

Deputy U.S. Marshals and Mexican police arrested Escobedo at a residence near Mexico City. He is a registered sex offender with a criminal record dating back more than 40 years, and has been arrested 25 times, the Marshals said.

He pleaded innocent to murder charges in Chicago and is being held without bail pending trial.

In another notable arrest, Johnny Jackson was found working in a Sheboygan, Wis., cheese factory, and later sentenced to life. Known as "Crusher" thanks to his batting skills on a championship softball team, he was accused of running the drug trade for Chicago’s largest street gang.