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PHEW: NYPD Arrests Man Who Allegedly Put Up Posters Making Fun Of NYPD
By
Garth Johnston
Published Nov 30, 2012
Modified Nov 30, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Nov 30, 2012
Modified Nov 30, 2012
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In the months since they appeared we had plumb forgotten about those funny fake NYPD drone ads that popped up around town to commemorate the anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. But the NYPD sure didn't. As the Daily News reports, police have arrested the alleged artist behind the "always watching" ads. And it wasn't just because of any fingerprints left behind but also possibly because of an interview that poster poster put online (along with other evidence).
"That first night I couldn’t sleep at all," the 29-year-old artist Essam Attia (who tagged many of the fake posters "ESSAM" as you can see above) told Animal in September. "My heart was pumping and I kept waking up in a cold sweat. Bloomberg, Kelly and his cronies are not going to take this lightly if I get caught." And boy was he not wrong. Attia was charged with "56 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, grand larceny possession of stolen property and weapons possession after allegedly having an unloaded .22-caliber revolver under his bed at his Manhattan apartment when he was arrested early Wednesday."
After being charged, Attia posted bail and is due back in court on December 3rd. Meanwhile, Animal's Bucky Turco assures us his site in no way helped the NYPD apprehend the criminal mastermind. "What a great use of NYPD resources," he told us in an email dripping in sarcasm. "The city is much safer now that this dangerous thought-provoking artist has been apprehended."
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