by Robert Lederman(5/10/99)
provided through OPENAIR-MARKET NET
Top NYPD Spokesperson Denies Artist has Ever Been Arrested; Calls Robert Lederman, "Delusional"
During an interview for an article in the Jewish Week 5/7/99, "His Artwork Raises A Fuehrer" NYPD spokesperson Marilyn Mode deliberately misinformed the reporter concerning my arrests stating that I am delusional, that there is no record of my ever being arrested and that I'd only received a few summonses [the entire article with the quotes can be found at http://www.thejewishweek.com/jwcurr.exe?99050719 or on the A.R.T.I.S.T. website at http://wwwopenair.org/alerts/artist/nyc.html].
I've consistently heard similar reports of Giuliani spokespersons lying to reporters about me over the past six years. This pattern of deliberate misrepresentation concerning the street artist controversy and my protest activities is part of an effort to hide the Mayor's pattern of criminal abuse of office and blatant violations of free speech. Denying that I've been arrested is also intended to damage my credibility, character and reputation and to further censor my political speech and access to the media. Mayor Giuliani has repeatedly denounced my portraits of him and has used every resource at his disposal to suppress these images. The following is a partial list of my arrests and summonses. At the end of this document are contact numbers for some of the attorneys who have handled these cases.
Please decide for yourself who's delusional.
A partial listing of my arrests and summonses since 1994.
All arrests involved being handcuffed, booked and held for 4 to 24 hours in custody. Most resulted in confiscation of original art as well as leaflets, protest signs, petitions, arrest photos, press materials and portraits of the Mayor. Each case resulted in an arraignment in Criminal Court and in some cases as many as twenty separate appearances before the case was finally dismissed. The Mayor has wasted a great deal of tax money trying to silence me. Many of the so-called vending arrests listed below actually involved displaying anti-Giuliani protest material during a demonstration which is why they were all dismissed.
I presently have three outstanding cases in Manhattan Criminal Court; one for resisting arrest [4/8/98]; one for obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct [2/3/98] and one for posting a political leaflet [4/7/97]. All of the other cases have been dismissed. No cases resulted in a plea bargain or Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal [ACD]. None of the cases resulted in my paying a fine. Arrests are clearly separate from summonses. On some days I received multiple summonses and was later arrested. Sometimes when multiple summonses were issued each summons was written for a different court on a different day in order to occupy as much of my time as possible. On two occasions I was arrested twice in the same day having returned to the demonstration area after being released and then being re-arrested. The names of all arresting officers, copies of the arrest paperwork, summonses etc. are part of the official record in three Federal lawsuits filed against the Mayor, the NYPD and the Parks Department. The first lawsuit was won in June of 1997 and resulted in street artists now being fully protected by the First Amendment and therefore needing no license. The two subsequent lawsuits involve the Mayor ordering my arrest in order to intimidate me and stop my protest activities. My lawyers have copies of the police reports for many of these arrests, as of course does the NYPD and the DA's office on their computers and in the files they used to prosecute these cases. Most of the "posting" charges involve my displaying portraits of Giuliani, in some instances, merely holding one in my hands during a demonstration. The disorderly conduct charges all involve my organizing lawful protests against the Mayor's policies, making a speech denouncing Giuliani or in some cases handing out leaflets about him. The defacement of property charges involve writing "Giuliani = Police State" in chalk on a sidewalk. The two resisting arrest charges involve my taking a photo of the arresting officers as they confiscated my Giuliani portraits. Many of these arrests were made or supervised by NYPD Captains or Inspectors or by the NYPD Intelligence Division, which has interrogated me a number of times while in custody. The Intelligence Division has also photographed and videotaped many of these arrests and has a large file on myself and the A.R.T.I.S.T. group which they have refused to turn over to a Federal judge. Many of these arrests were supervised by NYPD lawyers and/or by top officials in the Parks Department other City agencies and the BIDs.
Although more than 1,000 pieces of my art have been confiscated and I've never been found guilty only a few have been returned. None of the Giuliani portraits that have been confiscated have ever been recovered.
5/23/94 Arrest and Confiscation 5th Ave. 56th St. Arraigned 100 Centre St. 6/1/94. Dismissed.
5/26/94 Arrest and Confiscation. Arraigned 6/2/94 Dismissed.
5/31/94 Arrest and Confiscation. Arraigned 6/7/94 Dismissed.
6/18/94 Arrest and confiscation #431 West B'way. 36 pictures, books I'd written, literature and petitions. Arraigned 7/22/94 100 Centre St. Dismissed.
10/15/94 ECB Summons #97 Prince St. Displaying Photos (art) over a grating.
10/24/94 Arrest and Confiscation while protected by restraining order. Released from Precinct [see tape recording/ transcript]
10/24/94 ECB Summons. 076 696 658 DISMISSED 12/26/95
5/3/95 E.C.B. Summons Unlicensed General Vending.at 2081 Broadway. Trial held at E.C.B. 10/11/95 Found GUILTY summons 077 738 724. $250 fine. Appealed. APPEAL GRANTED 9/24/97, appeal #23578
3/25/95 arrest (Prince St. Leafleting/Protest) Aquitted at trial 6/20/95 pro se [JOHN UPTON CASE]
12/17/95 Arrest and Art Confiscation {Prince St.}
Unlicensed General Vending. Arraigned 1/22/96 100 Centre St. Adjourned to 3/26/96. Adjourned to 5/2/96. Adjourned to 6/13/96. Adjourned to 8/1/96. Adjourned to 9/26/96. DISMISSED 10/25/96
4/28/96 Arrest and Confiscation [JOHN UPTON CASE] Arraigned 6/3/96. Adjourned to 6/26/96; 8/6/96 AP3; 9/18/96; DISMISSED 10/25/96
5/11/96 Arrest and Confiscation [JOHN UPTON CASE] arraigned 6/11/96. Adjourned to 6/27/96; 7/30/96; 9/9/96; 10/4/96; 10/25/96; DISMISSED 10/25/96
5/14/96 ECB Summons. summons #090 449 443. Trial 9/16/96 Dismissed. 5/17/96 ECB Summons Dismissed.
3/11/97 Arrest Washington D.C. Unlawful Demonstration (leafleting w/o a permit). Trial 7/30/97 Aquitted. [I was arrested while distributing leaflets about Mayor Giuliani's violations of artists' First Amendment rights.]
4/7/97 Arrest: Making Graffiti, Criminal Mischief 4th Degree, Possession of Graffiti Instruments, Unlawful Posting. Arraigned 5/12/97 100 Centre St. Katherine Legeros. Adjourned to 6/27; 8/1/97; 9/9/97; 9/22/97; 10/14/97; 11/19/97; 1/14/98; 3/4/98; 4/30/98; 6/15/98 Jury Part 7; ....5/12/99
6/7/97 [2] ECB Summonses issued from 11:45 A.M. until 1:15 P.M. #448 West B'way. ECB trial 6/30/97 DISMISSED
7/12/97 Confiscation and ECB summons #429 West Broadway. Summons # 093 806 085 13 sealed bags of art and display confiscated. ECB trial 9/11/97 DISMISSED
7/20/97 ECB Summons 448 West Broadway. Trial 9/11/97 DISMISSED
[The civil suit involving the following cases is being handled by Andrew Miltenberg]
1/14/98 Arrest: Defacement of Property (City Hall). Arraigned 2/17/98 346 Bwy. Adjourned to 3/4/98 AP1 Katherine Legeros.. Adjourned to 4/30/98 AP1. Adjourned to 6/15/98 Jury Part 7. Dismissed.
1/21/98 Arrest: Defacement of Streets, Disorderly Conduct. Arraigned 2/19/98 346Bwy. Adjourned 3/4/98 AP1. Adjourned to 4/30/98 AP1. Adjourned to Jury Part 7 6/15/98 Legeros. Dismissed.
2/3/98 Arrest: [8th St. and 5th Avenue] Obstructing Government Administration, Disorderly Conduct. Arraigned 3/9/98 AR2. Adjourned to 4/27/98 AP5 Upton. Adjourned to 5/11/98 AP1. Adjourned to 6/22/98 Upton.
2/6/98 Arrest [50th and 5th]: Obstruction of Government Administration, Disorderly Conduct. Arraigned 3/6/98 346 Bwy. DISMISSED
2/17/98 Arrest: Disorderly Conduct [inside 346 Bwy Court]. John Upton. Arraigned 3/18/98. Adjourned to 4/6/98 AP1. Adjourned to 5/11/98 AP5 Upton. Adjourned to 6/22/98 AP1 Upton Dismissed.
2/27/98 Arrest: Defacing Property with Chalk. Arraigned 3/30/98 346 Bwy. Adjourned to 4/30/98 AP1 Legeros. Adjourned to 6/15/98 Jury Part 7. Dismissed.
2/28/98 Arrest: Defacing Property. Arraigned 3/30/98 346 Bwy. Adjourned to 4/30/98 AP1 Legeros. Adjourned to 6/15/98 Jury Part 7. Dismissed.
3/1/98 Arrest: Inciting a Riot, Unlawful Assembly, Disorderly Conduct. Arraigned 4/6/98 Adjourned to AP3 5/13/98 John Upton Dismissed.
3/1/98 Arrest: Defacing Park Property [cuffed and held 20 minutes inside police car then released to stop "riot"]. Arraigned 4/1/98 ECB Court. DISMISSED after trial due to officer writing wrong date of occurance.
3/1/98 [2] Summonses: Unauthorized Vending, Failure to Comply. ECB Court trial. DISMISSED due to fact that it was a protest no selling taking place.
3/7/98 [1] Summons: Unlawful Posting. Arraigned 4/6/98 346 Bwy. DISMISSED. Court lost ticket.
3/10/98 Arrest: Obstruction of Governmental Administration, Disorderly Conduct. Arraigned 4/13/98 AR2. Adjourned to 5/13/98 AP3 Dismissed.
3/10/98 1 Summons: Unlicensed Vending. Arraigned 4/13/98 346 Bwy. Adjourned to AP3 5/13/98 Dismissed
3/13/98 1 Summons: Illegal Vending. Arraigned 4/13/98 346 Bwy. Adjourned to 5/13/98 AP3 Dismissed
3/15/98 Arrest: Unauthorized Vending; Failure to Comply arraigned 4/20/98 346 Bwy. Adjourned to AP3 5/13 Dismissed
3/15/98 2 Summonses: Unlawful Vending Adjourned AP3 5/13 Dismissed
3/24/98 Arrest and 3 Summonses: [2] Unauthorized Vending [1] Failure to Comply Arraigned 4/27/98 346 Bwy. Adjourned to 5/13/98 AP3. After I was released from the Precinct I was again arrested. Dismissed
3/24/98 Arrest: Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest. Arraigned 3/24 in Criminal Court after night in Tombs; Scott Buel And Caroline from Miltenberg's office repped me. Adjourned to 4/16/98 AP17 Scott Buel. Adjourned to 4/30/98 AP1. Adjourned to 6/15/98 Jury Part 7 Katherine Legeros. Dismissed.
3/26/98 Arrest: Defacing Parks Property. Arraigned 4/28/98 AR2. Case not Prosecuted by D.A. UNRESOLVED call DA 6/28/98 (212) 335-9884 arrest # 34401. Dismissed.
3/26/98 Summons: Abuse of Parks Property. Arraigned 4/27/98 346 Bwy. Adjourned to 6/15/98 Jury Part 7 Legeros Dismissed.
4/1/98 [1] Summons: Failure to Comply. Arraigned 4/27/98 346 Bwy. DISMISSED Facially Insuficient.
4/5/98 1 Summons: Unlawful Posting. Arraigned 5/4/98 346 Bwy. Adjourned to 5/13/98 AP3 Dismissed
4/7/98 2 Summonses: Unlawful Posting, Failure To Comply. Arraigned 5/12/98 346 Bwy. Adjourned to 5/13/98 AP3 Dismissed
4/8/98 Arrest: Failure to Comply, Resisting Arrest, Unlawful Vending. AR2 Adjourned to 6/22/98 AP1 John Upton [all charges except resisting arrest have been dismissed]
4/8/98 Summons: Unlawful Posting of Signs. Adjourned to 5/13/98 AP3 Dismissed
4/10/98 1 Summons: Disorderly Conduct. Arraigned 5/12/98. Adjourned to AP3 5/13/98. Dismissed
4/11/98 [1] Summons: Unauthorized Vending. 5/11/98 346 Bwy DISMISSED for facial insufficiency.
4/12/98 [2] Summonses: Unlawful Vending, Failure to Comply. Arraigned 5/4/98 346 Bwy. DISMISSED for Facial Insufficiency.
4/22/98 [2] Summonses: Unauthorized Posting, Failure to Comply. Arraigned 5/25/98 346 Bwy. Dismissed
4/22/98 Arrest: Failure to Comply. Arraigned 5/26/98 AR2 Dismissed
5/15/98 Arrest: Disorderly Conduct Arraignment 6/16/98 AR2 Dismissed
5/27/98 Arrest: Cooper Union speech by Giuliani. Disorderly Conduct. Dismissed
8/25/98 Arrest: Disorderly conduct, failure to comply; and 2 summonses: 1 in ECB Court Failure to Comply, 1 in 346 Bwy Unauthorized vending. All of these involved my selling newspapers without a permit that doesn't even exist. Dismissed
2/24/99 Arrest: Disoderly Conduct. Dismissed at arraignment. P.S. 150 Sunnyside Queens Town Hall meeting for Giuliani; co-defendant Knut Masco.
Giuliani Press Office
Cristyne Lategano/Sunny Mindel (212) 788-2958
Marilyn Mode (212) 374-6700
Lederman attorneys
Andrew Miltenberg/Robert Fierman (212) 481-4242
John Upton 212 431-7267
Brett Goodman (212) 259-7185
For more information contact:
Robert Lederman, President of A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists' Response To Illegal State Tactics), (718) 369-2111
Email: ARTISTpres@aol.com
Website: http://www.openair.org/alerts/artist/nyc.html