Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

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Monday, December 14, 1998 Governor Tommy G. Thompson Secretary Linda Stewart

News Media Contact DWD News Office 608/267-4400 e-mail: news@dwd.state.wi.us fax: 608/266-1784

Seven added to state's child
support debt "most wanted" list

Madison, Wis. -- Seven more parents delinquent in paying child support have been placed on the state's "most wanted" debt list, the State Department of Workforce Development announced today.

The seven owe about $257,000 in unpaid child support for 12 children for whom they are financially responsible, said Linda Stewart, the agency's Secretary.

All added to the list are male, and that brings the number of parents on the list since its inception in May, 1996, to 46.

Three other names, including those of two females, were dropped from inclusion in the list just before the announcement because two debtors began paying and the third was located in Texas.

Four of the cases originated in Clark County, while other cases are from Columbia, Jefferson and Washington counties. Emphasis was placed on names for the latest posting on those from less-populous areas of the state, she said.

Stewart said the publicity effort "has been very successful in locating delinquent payers, with three even turning themselves in after they discovered they had been added to the list."

She said that, of those featured earlier, 62 per cent -- or 24 -- have been found. They also now have paid more than $101,000 toward total debts of $750,873 since they were located.

The child support "most wanted" list is posted on the agency's Web site, and periodically updated. The address is <http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/bcs/wanted/>.

The agency also maintains a toll-free phone line for citizens to use if they know the whereabouts of anyone on the list. That phone number is 1/800/724-5091. Nearly 600 calls have been received since its establishment.

Heading the latest list with the largest amount owed is Jorge Gutierrez, 37, last known to be living in Illinois or Mexico.

He owes $75,549 (current as of mid-November) in a case from Jefferson County involving two children. Gutierrez usually works in a factory.

Gutierrez has black hair and brown eyes, is 6’ tall, and weighs about 210 pounds. He has no known distinguishing marks.

Stewart said her agency pursues debtors regardless of the amount they owe. "A $6,000 debt can mean as much or more to one family as a $16,000 debt does to another," she said.

The others, also with outstanding debts current as of mid-November:

• Joel X. Kelley, 65, last known to be in Texas. He owes $71,487 for one child in a Clark County case, and has no known regular occupation. Description: bald, blue eyes, 5’ 6", and 160 pounds, with no known distinguishing marks.
   
• Vlada Herceq, 54, most recently believed living in California. He owes $40,977 for three children in this Clark County case. No regular occupation is known. Description: black hair, green eyes, 5’ 6", and 175 pounds, with no known distinguishing marks.
   
• John L. Brayshaw, Jr., 49, whose last known addresses were in Florida and Kentucky. He usually works as a master electrician and electrical inspector. He owes $28,009 for two children in a Washington County case. Description: brown hair, blue eyes, 5’ 11", and 220 pounds, and has an appendectomy scar. He also wears glasses and may have a beard or mustache.
   
• Steve L. Pope, 42, last known to be living in Eau Claire. He owes $24,858 in a Clark County case involving one child. His regular occupation is not known. Description: red brown hair, , 5’ 7", and 160 pounds. He also may wear a beard or mustache. His eye color is unknown.
   
• Kevin L. Leffingwell, 30, last believed living in the Phoenix, Ariz., area. He owes $10,731 in a Columbia County case involving one child. His usual occupation is unknown. Description: brown hair, hazel eyes, 5’ 10", and 175 pounds, and has a U.S. Special Forces tattoo on his right ankle and a barbed-wire tattoo on a wrist and ankle. He also has a 3 1/2-inch scar on his right shin.
   
• Thomas Carter, 47, last living in Virginia. A construction worker and carpenter, he owes $6,251 for one child in a case from Clark County. Description: brown hair, blue eyes, 5’ 9", and 139 pounds, with two tattoos -- "pixie" on left fingers and a cross on a wrist. He may have a beard.

Robert Ramatowski, 34, was dropped from the list after being found in Texas. He owes $39,531 in a Clark County case involving one child.

Other parents delinquent in paying child support are expected to be added to the list soon, Stewart said.

Wisconsin Bureau of Child Support

For an e-mail version of this news release, send your e-mail request and address to: news@dwd.state.wi.us

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