Wanted men, chased with cash

By The Associated Press

Some prominent cases in which authorities offered cash rewards:

JESSE JAMES: James was one of the most famous bank and train robbers in U.S. history. In 1881, Missouri Gov. Thomas Crittendon offered a $5,000 reward for the arrest of James or his brother, Frank. Robert Ford, a member of his murderous gang, believed he could collect the money if he killed either brother, and shot Jesse dead. No one knows how much reward money Ford collected.

UNABOMBER: Theodore Kaczynski was turned in by his brother, David, who apparently was unaware of the government's $1 million reward offer. David Kaczynski used some of the money to pay legal fees and taxes on the reward and set aside the rest for victims of crimes committed by paranoid schizophrenics.

RAMZI YOUSEF: The mastermind of 1993 World Trade Center bombing fled the country the night of the attack. The State Department flooded the world with posters, matchbooks, fliers, and newspaper ads about Yousef and a $2 million reward. Less than a year later, a still-unidentified informant who had one of the reward offers pinpointed Yousef's location in Pakistan and he was arrested shortly thereafter. The full $2 million was paid.

MANUEL NORIEGA: The first Bush administration put a $1 million reward on Noriega's head but he managed to evade capture for a time. After a few days on the run following the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama, Noriega turned up at the Vatican Embassy, where he was sheltered for days until a deal was worked out for his transfer to U.S. custody. No reward was paid.

SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC: The State Department launched a rewards program in 2000 offering up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Yugoslav President Milosevic and other leaders indicted for war crimes by an international tribunal. Milosevic was arrested in April 2001 by Serbian police on charges of corruption and abuse of power. Belgrade agreed to demands by the U.N. tribunal that he first face international war crimes charges and surrendered him to The Hague. No reward was paid.

OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBER: The government's $2 million reward offer wasn't what led to the capture of Timothy McVeigh after the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. McVeigh was tracked down in a small-town jail, put there by a state trooper who had nabbed him for driving without a license plate and carrying a loaded handgun. No reward was paid.

ERIC RUDOLPH: The FBI is offering $1 million for information leading directly to the arrest of Eric Robert Rudolph, wanted in the 1996 Olympics bombing and other crimes. For nearly four years, agents have combed the sawtooth ridges of western North Carolina for Rudolph, charged with four bombings, including fatal blasts at the Atlanta Games and at an Alabama abortion clinic. Rudolph was last seen in the area in July 1998 after stealing supplies from a health store owner.

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Source: World Book Encyclopedia, State Department, AP files.

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