Welfare sting nets 80 people

Tuesday, May 05, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Eighty people have been arrested in the Hudson County Sheriff's Office's annual sweep of residents who receive welfare benefits but owe child support, or who have become ineligible for benefits because there are warrants for their arrest, officials said.

Hudson County Sheriff Juan M. Perez called the month long effort a "double-edged sword" because it puts pressure on those owing child support and it also clears the welfare rolls of those who are ineligible.

County officials lured the individuals by cutting off their benefits and then arresting them when they showed up at the welfare office to see what the problem was, officials said.

Antonio Fields of Bayonne owes $41,359 in child support, the highest sum in the bunch, officials said. Ronald Livingston of Jersey City owes $31,692 and Eugene Salters, also of Jersey City, owes $27,360, officials said.

Thirty-nine persons arrested on warrants for failure to pay child support owed a total of more than $343,000, officials said. Those arrested on outstanding criminal warrants included 13 wanted for parole violations, 12 for failing to appear at various court hearings, and 16 for failing to show up for jury duty, officials said.

Conducted in cooperation with federal officials, the round-up ran through the month of April.