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Stealing Metrocards the Easy Way
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 25, 2004
Modified Mar 6, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 25, 2004
Modified Mar 6, 2008
Share
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Gothamist has questions for the man who stole $35,000 of Metrocards from vending machines. Like, given that Metrocards expire, did you try to use them all or did you give them to friends and family? Or did you sell them to other people? Did you just go up to subway booth clerks, asking them how much was on a card, or did you stand at one of the machines for hours, seeing what kinds of cards you had taken? And we thought cards were "empty" until you selected what kind of card you wanted from the machine...so many questions...
James Barzola, a repairman of the vending machines at LIRR stations, was arrested by the MTA police at Penn Station. He had been under surveillance for a while, after the LIRR noticed low numbers of Metrocards int eh machines. He will be arraigned on counts of grand larceny and possession of stolen property.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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