HUD Announces 491 Arrests in Yearlong Effort To Find Fugitives in Public Housing

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says it has helped apprehend almost 500 fugitives in a "multi-agency, multi-month law enforcement initiative" this year.HUD said the operations included arrest of people living in public housing in a dozen cities including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Columbus, with activities taking place throughout the year. In a statement, HUD Secretary Scott Turner cited HUD's other initiatives to root out what it calls fraud in public housing.“We will not allow criminal predators and fraudsters to use HUD housing as a haven or live freely on the taxpayer’s dime,” Turner said in the statement. HUD terms the program "Operation Clean House," and it has involved locating people with active warrants and who have been living in HUD-subsidized housing. Many of those arrested were currently living in HUD housing units, it said.Turner said HUD's Office of Inspector General partnered with the U.S. Marshall Service and local and state law enforcement agencies to carry out the arrests. Operations have taken place over the course of the year, including one in February that netted 16 fugitives in Minneap...