July 9, 2009 Nationwide dragnet brings thousands of fugitive felons off the streets Play video

(NECN/ABC) - The falcon is a bird of prey, and this falcon spread his wings wide. Thousands of fugitive felons are off the streets today after a nation-wide dragnet last month by local, state, and federal officials called "Operation Falcon."

Willie Conway, a convicted sexual predator and member of an Illinois street gang, is no longer on the street. The same is true of Joseph Christian Fontana. He was wanted in Santa Rosa County, Florida, for rape of a minor, child pornography, and 25 counts of sexual molestation.

Across the country, a silent war crackdown on crime as Federal marshals joined forces again with state and local law enforcement to target career criminals. The Marshals have been conducting Operation Falcon since 2005, but this is the biggest Operation to date more than 35,000 fugitives were rounded up in the month of June alone.

"I believe it could be called the largest law enforcement operation ever conducted in our history," said John Clark, Director of the US Marshals Service.

The goal is to reduce crime by taking the so-called worst of the worst off the street. Nationwide, the operation arrested 433 people wanted for murder, 900 gang members and more than 23 hundred sex offenders.

"Some were found hiding under beds, some in closets, and still others tried to make a run for it out the back door only to be caught anyway," said Clark.

As the recession continues, police say there are indications that the violence

could spike. The people they are targeting are almost always repeat offenders and increasingly ruthless.

Linsey Davis reports for ABC News