Pizza boxes may show face of deadbeat dads

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MOSCOW, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Fathers who don't pay their child support could find their faces printed on pizza boxes, said a top Russian court official.

Russia already publishes photos of deadbeat dads on billboards, on banners, in the media and on the Internet, Itar-Tass reported Friday.

The idea of adding the images to pizza boxes arose during a recent meeting of bailiffs, said Chief Russian Bailiff Artur Parfenchikov. Such a proposal is within the law, he said.

Only those parents who are on a wanted list for unpaid child support have their images publicized.

Bailiffs began publishing images of wanted dads five years ago and the number of new cases seeking unpaid child support has dropped significantly. In 2007, 1,230,000 new cases were filed. In 2007, only 881,000 new cases were.

In the past eight months, bailiffs dealt with 1,630,000 cases of what is known in Russia as "alimony debt," 63,000 fewer than the same period last year.

The campaign has changed public attitudes about fathers who don't support their children. The former image of a father as a hero has been replaced with the understanding that a man should support his children.