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Warrant Issued for Elderly Grifter Stuck in Car Outside Court
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 30, 2009
Modified Nov 30, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 30, 2009
Modified Nov 30, 2009
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The 78-year-old ex-con who's been arrested some 37 times over the past three decades is in trouble again, this time for missing her final court date two weeks ago. You may recall that Katherine Kelly was famously busted in October 2008, after a pickpocket sting at the Upper West Side Fairway turned up a wallet in her bra. (An NYPD source called her a "pickpocket terrorist.") Earlier this month, Supreme Court Justice Ronald Zweibel signed an arrest warrant for Kelly, despite being informed she was stuck in a car outside court.
Kelly's lawyer Rick Pasacreta tells the Post, "She came to court, but three court officers were afraid they'd hurt her if they lifted her out of the car. She had soiled herself. She couldn't move her legs. I said, 'Judge! She's here!' But the judge said if she's not in the courtroom, he's issuing a warrant."
But when the Post inquired about the warrant, a courts spokesman got all snippy: "I'm legitimately confused. When judges are perceived to be less than tough on crime, the Post criticizes them. Here, a judge is being tough on a persistent misdemeanant, and the Post is criticizing him, too." Seriously, what does a judge have to do these days to make the Post happy?
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Katherine Kelly
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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