NYPD arrests couple for stealing traffic cams w/cherry picker
One of the more controversial developments in traffic safety enforcement in recent years has been the deployment of automated speed and red-light cameras, which use radar sensors to nab alleged scofflaws and ticket them via mail. According to the NYPD, pair of thieves allegedly spent the better part of a month trolling the city in a pickup truck with a cherry picker, raiding red-light camera for their valuable innards, including the Nikon cameras that actually take the photos. Police arrested the pair, identified as Brooklynites Anthony Cintorrino and Tara Laburt, after recovering some of the stolen items from a reseller and tracing them backwards from there. Following the couple's arrest, police found more stolen items in their homes, and reportedly expected to recover everything. All told, over $88,000 of equipment was swiped. Cintorrino apparently knew what he was doing -- in the past, he had worked as a contractor for the firm that installs and maintains the cameras for the city. Now, if you live in New York, don't go around thinking you start running red lights without getting snagged. The city claims all of the cameras were replaced within 48 hours of the thefts.
[Source: The New York Post | Image: Wikimedia Commons]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
FThorn 12:24PM (7/25/2009)
Godspeed and good luck fellow patriots!
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naggs 3:52PM (7/25/2009)
hey everyone, just shoot them
impossible to catch you
IK 8:40PM (7/25/2009)
what, the cops or the cameras?
Quantumphysics 2:13PM (7/26/2009)
shoot THE CAMERAS.
Randy 10:28AM (7/28/2009)
What's all this violent talk about! Shooting cameras? Shooting anything?
People people people... This is all remedied in two ways.
1. Obey the law. (it's made for a reason)
(and other the other hand.... heh heh he heh haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)
2. Shimmy up and slide a 1 cent plastic bag over the camera and tie it tight.
You know how long it takes the city / state to act on things! The bag would be there for a week at a time. And what could possibly be the fine for doing so. "conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice"? - Ummm yeah...
FThorn 10:40AM (7/28/2009)
I bet they respond to plastic bags over revenue-generating cameras faster than armed robberies.
mwdelta 1:17PM (7/25/2009)
"The city claims all of the cameras were replaced within 48 hours of the thefts."
Of course they were - wouldn't want to lose out on all that revenue!
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FSM 3:11PM (7/25/2009)
The question is how long would it take for more important infrastructure to be fixed or replaced after being reported to local govt? Such as bad potholes, missing stop signs, fixing a traffic light.
Farris 10:04PM (7/25/2009)
Interesting thought, FSM.
What if the people in question had broken up the roadway and created potholes instead of stealing the cameras?
Would the city have paved over the roadway as quickly as they replaced the cameras?
paul34 12:51PM (7/25/2009)
You could almost give a secret kudos to these folks, until you realize they were profiting by stealing from NYC taxpayers. Which isn't nice or acceptable.
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swimstarguy 1:01PM (7/25/2009)
This.
I would feel better about it if they just burned them or something.
Farris 1:09PM (7/25/2009)
I agree with you, but I'm somewhat torn.
"Socking it to the man?" Check
"Stealing $88000 basically from the pockets of NYCers?" Oops, check.
jv2k 2:47PM (7/25/2009)
Yea I read the headline and thought
"Hell yea take that Bloomberg!"
Then I read the article that showed it was all just to sell the parts and get more work and I thought
"oh..."
jpm100 10:01AM (7/26/2009)
That's a pretty good excuse to end all civil disobedience or any vocal opposition to government policy. Even if they engage in non-criminal activity, it will still cost the taxpayers money to crush, ummm stop them.
A selfish/envious people are ripe ground for totalitarianism.
car vehicles 1:33PM (7/25/2009)
The revenue from these cameras must far outweigh the cost, no wonder they quickly replaced them!
Although its the public that cops the cost unfortunately.
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BoxerFanatic 7:49PM (7/25/2009)
Some cities have found out that it is actually not the case, and have lost money on the cameras...
but the cameras are for "safety", so they just write more other tickets, and raise taxes... eventually it gets paid for.
Jeff Johnson 2:04PM (7/25/2009)
i don't mind people getting nabbed for breaking the law, but when the whole scenario is more about dollars than safety is where it becomes something just plain WRONG.
It's good those two people got nabbed for stealing - I think they would have had LOTS more support behind them had they just simply destroyed the cameras and not gotten greedy.
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Driver X 2:29PM (7/25/2009)
Someone should start a legal defense fund for these Great Americans.
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LiveandLetDrive 2:44PM (7/25/2009)
Since when does running red lights make you a "great American?" Speed cameras sure, but red lights?
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P.V. 3:30PM (7/25/2009)
I feel glad that they did this instead of leaving these outrageous and cowardly speed cameras up, but I'm sad that they did it at the expense of NYC taxpayers.
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