The invitees were told they could redeem their prize with fellow winners at a pregame party, where they also could enter a drawing for 1986 Redskins season tickets and a one-week, all-expenses-paid trip to Super Bowl XX in New Orleans.

None of the guests made it to RFK Stadium for the Redskins’ 27-24 triumph over Cincinnati, much less left the party with tickets to the Super Bowl. The entire event was an elaborate ruse crafted by the U.S. Marshals Service to apprehend federal fugitives and resulted in the arrest of more than 100 criminals with outstanding warrants for 90 felonies and 70 misdemeanors. Thirty years later, Operation Flagship remains one of the most successful – and creative – stings in law enforcement history.

“It was party time, and they fell for it hook, line and sinker,” U.S. marshal for the District of Columbia Herbert M. Rutherford told the Associated Press in 1985.

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“Often emulated, never duplicated,” Robert Leschorn, who wrote the operations plan for the D.C. sting and retired after 30 years in the U.S. Marshals Service in 2000, said Friday.

Hook

Howard Safir, who would later serve as New York City’s police commissioner, was the associate director of operations for the U.S. Marshals Service in 1985 when he contacted Louie McKinney, chief of enforcement operations, and Leschorn, McKinney’s deputy chief, about doing a sting in conjunction with the D.C. office. He wanted it to be bigger and better than any previous operation. “Make it happen,” Leschorn recalled Safir telling him.

Leschorn met with Rutherford and his chief deputy, Toby Roche. Having planned and executed several stings at his previous post in New York, Leschorn knew that one of the keys to a successful operation was using enticing enough bait to lure criminals out of hiding. Rutherford and Roche suggested Redskins tickets.

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“In D.C., that was the holy grail of bait,” said Leschorn, a Redskins fan who acknowledged with a laugh that a similar tactic would not be nearly as effective today. “I decided to work around that.”

Leschorn eventually mailed more than 3,000 invitations to the last known addresses of fugitives with 5,117 outstanding warrants among them. About half of the invitations were returned because the suspects had moved. Flagship International Sports Television, Inc. — the fictitious firm that hosted the pregame brunch — was a nod to the U.S. Marshals Service’s Fugitive Investigative Strike Team, which was formed in 1981 to address the growing number of federal fugitive warrants. That clever name wasn’t the only bit of fun Leschorn had while developing the plan. The letter that was included with the invitation was signed by I. Michael Detnaw. (Spell the last name backwards and say the first and middle initials.)

“It was kind of like writing a movie,” Leschorn said.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the plot was so convincing that a lawyer for a cable television company who somehow got word of the party showed up to complain that Flagship lacked the proper license to operate in D.C.

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The ruse continued after the unsuspecting guests arrived at the convention center, where they checked in and were given name tags. The criminals entered a large room that featured banners with the FIST and Redskins logos. Undercover officers dressed as Redskins cheerleaders conducted discreet weapons checks by offering hugs or arms around the shoulders. A big screen TV played Redskins highlights, including John Riggins’s touchdown run in Super Bowl XVII. There was no indication that the event was a setup.

More than 100 undercover law enforcement personnel, including Metro police officers, participated in the operation. Leschorn, who served as the host of the event and FIST’s fictitious CEO, didn’t skimp on the details of the party. One marshal wore a Redskins headdress and another wore a knock-off San Diego Chicken suit. Both carried guns. Safir nixed Leschorn’s idea for an undercover officer to wear a Santa suit.

“We just decided we were going to kill them with smiles,” Leschorn said.

Line(s)

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“No matter what happens, you stay in your role,” Leschorn said he told his team on the morning of the brunch, which came after six weeks of training and three dress rehearsals.

One of the most important roles was played by the charismatic McKinney, who wore a tuxedo and large top hat as the party’s master of ceremonies.

Leschorn and his team decided that attempting to arrest 101 criminals in a large room at once was too risky, so the plan called for groups of 14-16 fugitives at a time to be escorted to another room upstairs, where they were told they would receive their tickets and hear a few remarks from McKinney.

In his 2009 memoir, “One Marshal’s Badge,” McKinney recalled his address to one of the groups:

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Knowing that many in this crowd were Redskins fans, I talked about the exciting upcoming game and interacted with them. We had a prearranged signal with the Special Operations Group, which was supposed to enter the room when it heard me say ‘surprise.’ To my surprise, nothing had happened after I’d given the signal. Thinking that I should repeat the cue louder, I decided to try again.’Today really is your lucky day,’ I shouted above the conversations. ‘And I’ve got a big surprise for you!’ This time the cue worked. With guns drawn, the SOG team swept into the room and surrounded the audience. The cheerleaders drew their weapons, as did the chicken and the Indian characters.”

“Everybody played their roles perfectly,” Leschorn said.

Sinker

Group by group, the criminals were placed under arrest and processed. The buses they previously thought would take them to RFK Stadium instead took them to prison.

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“I came to see Boomer; I came to see Boomer,” one criminal said, referencing Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason, as he was led away.

“They’re looking for my twin brother,” another shouted.

As The Washington Post noted in an editorial two days after the sting, the rap sheet of those apprehended included “15 warrants for assault, five for robbery, six for burglary, four for escape, 19 for bond default or bail violation, 18 for narcotics violations, 59 for probation or parole violation and 41 for a variety of charges from rape to arson to forgery.”

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Operation Flagship cost $22,100 and led to a total of 144 arrests, or $153 per fugitive. The marshals spent an average of $1,295 per apprehension in 1985.

“It was a tremendous success, and it kind of launched a national way of thinking for law enforcement,” Leschorn said. “We had contingencies for everything, but thank God everything went smoothly.