Posted on 12/15/2005 11:07:05 AM PST by logician2u
A man accused of selling a MARTA token to a passenger having trouble with a token machine must stand trial on the criminal charge.
Judge Stephanie Davis decided Tuesday that Donald Pirone's case should be bound over to state court for trial. Pirone could face a year in jail.
An officer spotted Pirone selling the token on Nov. 30 inside the West End subway station. Following a 1992 state law that prohibits passengers from selling tokens, the officer handcuffed Pirone and gave him a citation.
Pirone says he was trying to help a fellow passenger. He says he did not ask for money and that the passenger gave him $1.75 -- the price of a token -- out of generosity.
Words fail me. I wonder why so many people prefer driving their own cars?
What is a MARTA token and why is illegal to see them?
MARTA - Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority..as for it being illegal to sell them or give them away, I have no freakin clue..
And people wonder why there is such a rush to move to the country.
They are wasting taxpayer dollars on this? Unreal.
All the locals should boycott the system until the law is changed and the clowns who passed it are voted out. Vote liberal and get stuck with/on stupid.
This makes Atlanta look even dumber than our new theme song, thanks MARTA!
"And people wonder why there is such a rush to move to the country."
Actually that's easy to understand. It's when said people try to make the country like the city they just left, that's what really confuses me.
This is yet another object lesson of the abuse by government and of power...the jury, if I were serving on it, would not only find the man innocent but also would find for punitive damages against the governmental entities and employees that pursued this case AND THE DAMAGES WOULD CATCH YOUR ATTENTION.
A token pays your fare. Instead of actual US money. The law being invoked is similar to the Las Vegas law that prohibits using chips as cash outside of the casino. It is like the token has actual cash value when it does not, it is only a ride on the rapid transit system and you can't used it for money. I would suppose that if you could sell the tokens, then someone would counterfeit them and sell them. But if a judge does not throw this out of court and dress down the metro cop I will be dissapointed in Metro justice.
I assume by "see" you meant "sell".MARTA is Atlanta's transit system.Most big city transit systems use tokens to get through the turnstyles to get to your train.
I think I read that it's illegal to sell them there because of concerns about fraud.
Ride Marta, it's SMARTA. Remember how stupid that slogan was? This tops that in sheer idiocy, but not by much.
This is a case for jury nullification.
the officer handcuffed Pirone and gave him a citation
Handcuffed?? For what??
My suggestion: Don't ride MARTA. If the Atlanta cops have nothing better to do with their time than to persecute people who ride MARTA, then don't ride MARTA.
I was listening to Boortz's radio program when he was talking about this, and then a MARTA representative called in to explain their position.
MARTA has had problems with people breaking the machines and stealing the Tokens (1 token, on ride on MARTA), then selling the stolen tokens for cash ($1.75 per token). Evidently this got so prelevant that MARTA started losing lots of money. So, rather than guard their machines, they had a Georgia State law passed making it illegal anyone except MARTA to sell a token. Boortz gave the MARTA person a really bad time about this application of the law.
You got that right, we have neighbors who moved in from the city, I about laughed my @ss off when the woman asked my wife "What's a drainfield?"
Hopefully, it won't come to that, but on the other hand, it should not have come to this. I hope their is a prosecutor who has the common sense not to waste taxpayer money prosecutiing this guy.
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