After over a decade on the streets of NYC, legendary all-city graffiti artist Neo squeezed out his last drop of spray-paint, and decided to try something completely different: Being A Police Officer.
He joined the NYPD in 1995, and patrolled the streets until 2001, when he injured his leg during a homicide investigation and was forced to retire. Now, police say 43-year-old Steven Weinberg is back to his old tricks again, tagging up familiar haunts out of sheer boredom.
Neo’s true identity was exposed through a trail of personal info that included a photo of him wearing an NYPD raid jacket, and a MySpace page for his alter-ego that revealed his birth date.
An interview with SubwayOutlaws.com, in which he identified himself as police officer and “a cripple,” also did much to help those who were working on tracking him down.
Weinberg was arrested in his Flushing home on August 3, 2010, and is currently awaiting trial. Police allege that Weinberg confessed to tagging the Clearview Expressway, but his attorney, Patrick Broderick, says that claim is bogus.
“He hasn’t been Neo since 1988,” said Broderick. “It is ludicrous because he is physically incapable of doing that.” Broderick blames the fresh tags on a Neo copycat.
He and Weinberg have filed a lawsuit against the city for an arrest they say was made using “defective information.”
To me, this guy is still fully capable of tagging. Unless he used his legs to paint, he's good. So yes, I do believe that he is still tagging, but that doesn't mean I think he should be prosecuted. Going from illegal Street Artist, to police officer, is a huge change, but I don't think it changed his heart in the slightest.
1 comment:
I personally think he shouldn't be punished even if it WAS him. Street art is legitimate art, and I figure the place that was tagged wouldn't be much different if it wasn't tagged.
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