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Man must stand trial for selling MARTA token
Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 12/14/05 | ap

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.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: abuse; atlanta; fiat; judges; marta; money; stupidity; subways; token; transit
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Let no good deed go unpunished.
1 posted on 12/15/2005 11:07:07 AM PST by logician2u
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To: logician2u

Words fail me. I wonder why so many people prefer driving their own cars?


2 posted on 12/15/2005 11:08:08 AM PST by null and void (Peace on Earth. Death to the Terrorists...)
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To: logician2u

What is a MARTA token and why is illegal to see them?


3 posted on 12/15/2005 11:09:04 AM PST by Sunshine Sister
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To: logician2u
This,no doubt,is MARTA's newest attempt to increase ridership.
4 posted on 12/15/2005 11:09:43 AM PST by Gay State Conservative
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To: Sunshine Sister

MARTA - Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority..as for it being illegal to sell them or give them away, I have no freakin clue..


5 posted on 12/15/2005 11:10:26 AM PST by GeorgiaDawg32 (Islam is a religion of peace and they'll behead 13 year old girls to prove it...)
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To: logician2u

And people wonder why there is such a rush to move to the country.


6 posted on 12/15/2005 11:10:59 AM PST by Abathar (Proudly catching hell for posting without reading since 2004)
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To: logician2u

They are wasting taxpayer dollars on this? Unreal.


7 posted on 12/15/2005 11:11:43 AM PST by Paved Paradise
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To: logician2u

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.


8 posted on 12/15/2005 11:12:07 AM PST by right right
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To: logician2u

This makes Atlanta look even dumber than our new theme song, thanks MARTA!


9 posted on 12/15/2005 11:12:11 AM PST by rattrap
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To: Abathar

"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.


10 posted on 12/15/2005 11:12:28 AM PST by tfecw (It's for the children)
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To: logician2u

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.


11 posted on 12/15/2005 11:13:50 AM PST by MarkT
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To: Sunshine Sister

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.


12 posted on 12/15/2005 11:13:56 AM PST by KC_for_Freedom (Sailing the highways of America, and loving it.)
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To: Sunshine Sister
What is a MARTA token and why is illegal to see them?

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.

13 posted on 12/15/2005 11:14:25 AM PST by Gay State Conservative
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To: rattrap

Ride Marta, it's SMARTA. Remember how stupid that slogan was? This tops that in sheer idiocy, but not by much.


14 posted on 12/15/2005 11:15:26 AM PST by jsk10
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To: KC_for_Freedom

This is a case for jury nullification.


15 posted on 12/15/2005 11:15:40 AM PST by Fred Hayek (Liberalism is a mental disorder)
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To: Gay State Conservative

the officer handcuffed Pirone and gave him a citation


Handcuffed?? For what??


16 posted on 12/15/2005 11:16:41 AM PST by VA_Gentleman (Bush's fault pings are tiresome.)
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To: logician2u

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.


17 posted on 12/15/2005 11:16:51 AM PST by Brilliant
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To: GeorgiaDawg32

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.


18 posted on 12/15/2005 11:17:11 AM PST by Mack the knife
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To: tfecw

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?"


19 posted on 12/15/2005 11:17:59 AM PST by Abathar (Proudly catching hell for posting without reading since 2004)
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To: Fred Hayek

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.


20 posted on 12/15/2005 11:18:13 AM PST by Brilliant
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