![impostors_mccallum[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/oADqgkT.jpg "impostors_mccallum[1].jpg")
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/nyregion/mta-seeks-bus-and-train-thiefs-profits-from-potential-movie-deal.html
>For more than three decades, Darius McCollum’s transit exploits have appeared in police reports and newspapers. Then came the news this month that his story might be turned into a movie starring Julia Roberts.
>But on Monday, officials at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that they would move to recover any profits he would earn from the film because the agency had been a victim of his crimes.
>It was the latest chapter in the tale of Mr. McCollum, New York City’s famed train and bus thief. Mr. McCollum, who has Asperger’s syndrome, is currently in jail at Rikers Island on charges that he stole a Greyhound bus from the Port Authority Bus Terminal last fall.
>A spokesman for the authority, Kevin Ortiz, said it would try to recoup any “ill-gotten gains he receives from participation in this purported film project.” The agency called upon the producers to notify New York State’s Office of Victim Services about the details of their financial arrangement with Mr. McCollum, who will turn 51 next Monday.
...
>Variety reported last week that Ms. Roberts was set to star as Mr. McCollum’s lawyer, Sally Butler, in “Train Man,” a film based on his life. A producer described the film to Entertainment Weekly as “‘Erin Brockovich’ meets ‘Catch Me if You Can,’” referring to the film that won Ms. Roberts an Oscar and another in which Leonardo DiCaprio played a con artist.
>The authority said it would seek to obtain any money that Mr. McCollum makes from the film project under a New York State law intended to prevent criminals from profiting from their crimes. The statute, known as the Son of Sam law, is based on legislation created to prevent David Berkowitz, the serial killer, from profiting by selling his story.
>A transportation enthusiast, Mr. McCollum first gained notoriety in 1981 when he took over the controls of a train in Manhattan at age 15. Since then, he has been arrested more than two dozen times and once dressed as a transit employee to get inside a subway control room.
>On Monday, Ms. Butler said that it was outrageous that the authority was going after “what little money Darius may or may not get.” A film deal has not been made final, she said, and it is unclear how much Mr. McCollum may receive.
>“It’s not going to be such a significant amount that the M.T.A. would want to waste money on the team of lawyers they would need to pursue this,” Ms. Butler said. “They will take it over my dead body.”
...
>Ms. Butler defended her client, saying he was a kind person who had not injured anyone. He needs mental health treatment, not further punishment, and the authorities should seek his advice about how to improve security, she said.
>“If it’s true that he can walk in and take a bus, maybe you need some help,” said Ms. Butler, who declined to comment on her potential portrayal by Ms. Roberts.
>The Gotham Group, the film’s producer, declined to discuss the film or to comment on the authority’s request to notify the victim services office.
>In November, Mr. McCollum was arrested on charges that he stole a bus from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan after officials tracked it to the Gowanus section of Brooklyn. He is being held on a $50,000 bail or $100,000 bond.
...
>At an authority board meeting on Monday, Charles G. Moerdler, a member of the board, said that he was concerned that Mr. McCollum would not stop taking trains and buses on joy rides.
>“I think you need to establish a precedent,” Mr. Moerdler said. “You do this sort of stuff, and you pay the penalty.”
>Veronique Hakim, the head of the city’s subway and bus system, told board members that the agency would take on the issue and signaled her disapproval of the film.
>“Apparently,” Ms. Hakim said, “I’m not in touch with what makes for good popular entertainment.”
>Son of Sam laws have been cited frequently over the years to try to keep offenders from gaining from their crimes. Last year, prosecutors said that David Sweat, an inmate who escaped from a state prison, would not be able to profit by selling his story of the manhunt that followed.
>Leon Friedman, a professor of constitutional law at Hofstra University who worked on a case involving Son of Sam laws in the 1990s, said it appeared the authority had a good case to seek money from the film.
>Mr. McCollum “did commit a crime, and they suffered as a result of it,” Mr. Friedman said, referring to the authority.
>“And now he has additional money as a result of this deal,” he continued.
>Mr. McCollum’s mother, Elizabeth, said on Monday in a phone interview from her home in North Carolina that she hoped the film would show the true story of struggles her son had faced over the years. He deserved to keep the money, she said, adding, “This is the story of his life.”
Taking the money from a serial killer is one thing, this shit is so stupid
OP here. A better title would have been
>thief DENIED profits from movie by NYState
Sorry, English is not my first language. Just wanted to clarify.
>>32526
I dunno, sounds fair to me.
Sure it's not as extreme, but there's not much moral grey area here. he's a serial criminal, and it's not a terribly sympathetic crime.
>>32612
>it's not a terribly sympathetic crime
You might be surprised. He has a small cult following among urban explorers and train buffs for doing what most of them don't have the balls to do but have always wanted to. He is very polarizing though and the railfan community (the train people on forums like subchat.com) either love him as a hero or hate him as enemy #1 of the MTA.
>>32622
Huh. Figures.
I went to see if 1chan had a thread up on it but no. Probably not something they want to deal with.
