HAWTHORNE, Calif. -- The 'Big Win' turned out to be a no-win for 88 people arrested by authorities using the California Lottery as a lure to reel in people wanted on outstanding warrants, officials said.
The three-day sting operation that ended Thursday was conducted by police, sheriff's deputies and U.S. marshals at the Hawthorne Memorial Center under the guise of a special promotional event in which the invited 'contestants' were led to believe they were participating in a special state lottery, Deputy Dave Tellez said.
Letters sent to the suspects, all with outstanding felony warrants ranging from robbery and narcotics charges to probation violations and misdemeanor drunken driving, said they had been computer-selected to play and evaluate new lottery games. They would, the lettters said, be eligible to win and keep 'Instant Cash' prizes from $50,000 to $75,000 and could qualify for the lottery's Big Spin.
Instead they were left sitting in jail with bails set up to $50,000.
At the community center, three women - one a police lieutenant in plainclothes - sat at a reception table covered with lottery posters and piles of oversized tickets.
With letters in hand, the 'contestants' straggled in to the front reception desk and presented their identification.
Several friendly plainclothes 'escorts' greeted them at a second entrance and walked each newcomer through an empty gymnasium to another door and into the arms of waiting deputies.
They were handcuffed, searched, fingerprinted and outfitted with ID bracelets before being transported to area jails, where they were booked.
One man, identified only as Mr. Price, said 'Tell me what I'm doing here. I don't have a warrant. I'm a registered architect with a whole staff of people. And my Rolls Royce -- I'm afraid someone's going to steal it.'
A short time later a contempt-of-court warrant for failure to appear in court was produced and the man was taken away.
James Strossburger, 59, Westchester, walked in with a letter and was handcuffed.
'Mr. Strossburger, you're under arrest,' he was told.
'You've got to be kidding,' he said. 'What is this, some kind of sting? You've got the wrong Strossburger.'
After checking the warrant, officers discovered they were looking for Strossburger's son.
The elder Strossburger has been a polce reservist for 11 years, but his son, same name and address but different middle initial, failed to show up for a 1986 drunken driving arrest.
