Police Offer Fake TV Roles : Lure of Footlights Proves Arresting for Scofflaws

Half a dozen people who answered letters inviting them to interviews for a cable television documentary about rural Maine found themselves facing warrants rather than bright lights.

Letters from the imaginary USA Cable Television Network were mailed from New York to 200 people who had been named in warrants for such offenses as failure to appear in court, burglary, robbery, rape and drunk driving.

The letters, signed by “J. B. Dunn,” said the recipients had been chosen from a computer list to appear in the documentary and invited them to an Augusta hotel for a free lunch and dinner.

“We would like to hear your thoughts, feelings, opinions and experiences of growing up and living in one of this country’s most beautiful and rural areas,” said the letters.

The USA in the company’s name really stood for “you should have appeared,” said Kennebec County Sheriff Frank Hackett. “J. B. Dunn” was short for “justice be done.”

Although only seven people showed up, Hackett said today that other people who received letters have offered to turn themselves in since Saturday’s operation.

The deputies ran into some problems when people who had not committed any offenses showed up. William Fullerton of West Gardiner said that revealing his birth date showed that it was actually his son, William, who was wanted for alleged traffic violations.

Deputies “told me I could go and not to say anything to anybody,” Fullerton said. “I told them I was going to tell everybody.”