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T rider couldn't believe eyes when mayoral candidate encouraged people to piggyback through the fare gates
By adamg on Thu, 08/08/2013 - 6:41pm
UPDATE, Friday a.m.: An MBTA spokesman reports: "We found no video evidence to support the story you sent us."
UPDATE: Dorchester Reporter News Editor Gintautus Dumcius caught up with Clemons at a candidate forum in Dorchester tonight. He tweets:
He denies it, quite adamantly.
An outraged Orange Line rider reports on an incident around 9 a.m. Friday at Forest Hills involving mayoral candidate Charles Clemons:
I was taking the MBTA (commuter rail and transferring to the Orange Line) and watched the mayoral candidate named Charles Clemons (bragging that he is a former police officer) letting individuals through the turnstiles without paying by doubling up and following closely behind other individuals who have paid. Telling them "Yeah, that's the way you do it," while he tried to hand them a pamphlet about his campaign. This was an attempt to get people to vote for him as he was campaigning at the same time. How alarming.
When I looked at him with inquiry, he said to me "Don't worry, I got them" (meaning "I've got them covered" or I plan to pay for them later). That's quite funny and insulting to my intelligence. This was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.
MBTA staff just watched as he was doing all of this. I was there for at least 5 minutes as I was leading a group of students on a field trip and watching it all.
As there is a discussion of raising the fares for folks taking the T, maybe these types of situations should be looked at more closely?
I certainly won't be voting for that guy. I also will be alerting my friends and neighbors in Dorchester and JP as to what I witnessed - also bringing it to his campaign office and possibly the press. I would like to hear what the MBTA has to say about this. His actions were a disgusting display - I have never seen anything like that before in the city of Boston.
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo says:
Transit Police will investigate. The actions described by the witness are completely unacceptable.
Ed. note: I made several attempts to contact Clemons, both through his campaign and at his radio station. At one point, his staff asked for a copy of the rider's report, which I forwarded (without the rider's name). However, he has yet to respond.
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Comments
I'm unclear about what he
I'm unclear about what he did. He's a former police officer. What did you want him to do to stop people doing what they probably do anyways? How is his behavior any more unacceptable than you or I watching people piggyback? Don't know about you, but I don't care enough to track down a T cop.
Are you serious? Supervising
Are you serious? Supervising all your "supporters" as they go without paying through the turnstiles is STEALING!! You may do it, your friends may do it but that doesn't mean its RIGHT! I NEVER do it and I take the T everyday.
sounds like he was just
sounds like he was just passing out leaflets to random passersby. They aren't his supporters.
This story is FALSE and the MBTA stated so on 8/9/13.
UPDATE, Friday a.m.: An MBTA spokesman reports: "We found no video evidence to support the story you sent us."
Gintautus Dumcius is a terrible journalist. He is one of the worst Gotcha writers out there and publishes conjecture and gossip in most of his columns.
This is why Gintautus will NEVER make it as a professional journalist in the big leagues because he does not report the news or facts. He reports garbage.
Either the person who allegedly saw Clemons comes forth and identifies themselves as if they were writing a letter to the editor or this crap of a story was made up by Dumcius or one of Clemon's opponents
Gin had nothing to do with this story
Except for going up to him at the Dot Out forum and asking Clemons about the incident after I'd already posted this. So blame me.
Its about time we had some real issues
After all the song Charlie on the MTA was about a progressive candidate for mayor. All the candidates should be asked if they were turnstyle jumpers in their youths.
The T will respond by sending a crack team of cardboard cops to crack down on Charlie Clemons on the MBTA
so what about the insanely-expensive video surveillance?
All the stations now have cameras everywhere, including the turnstiles - our federal tax dollars pissed into the wind to protect us from dem ter-rists.
We've also been led to believe that if the gates detect a fare evasion, the incident is flagged in the system.
If this happened - where's the video? And if there's supposedly no video, it'll be hard not to believe the Thin Blue Line is in action...
Video cameras are relatively
Video cameras are relatively cheap long lasting infrastructure. They deter most amateur criminals and assist in apprehending professional criminals.
Thank you Dorchester Reporter
Thank you Dorchester Reporter for following up and asking the mayoral candidate directly.
This is just another scenario of campaign supporters publishing false information to the media. It's who we know within media on how things get published now?
I guess we should expect a lot of this leading up to election day.
And before this incident, I'm sure the outraged witness
was seriously considering voting for Clemons...
Pretty funny stuff, though. "MBTA staff just watched". Uh-oh.
Saw it coming
Charles Clemons operates an unlicensed radio station. Did anyone really expect him to be an example of paying one's fare share on the subway? On the contrary, it's all about scheming the system and playing the victim.
How do people expect he'd run the city if he can't follow basic rules about paying a simple subway fare?
What's the big deal, that's
What's the big deal, that's how the T , the EBT program , and all the other perks from the system , operate , on OPM, Other People's Money, you know , the taxpayers who also have money trees growing paper money leaves. This stuff should all be voluntary on your tax returns, like allocating the dollar for the voting system. Call it the chump fund. Your tax liability should be divided into mandatory infrastructure payments , and voluntary subsidy allocations. Sounds cruel, but this type of thinking has to stop. With the rights people seem to expect, there are responsibilities. I would like to eat and ride free too. Does it work with cable too, I need my ESPN ?
F-ing FAA, give me my 11 cents back!!!
Wait so if it moves cars through the city it's "infrastructure", but if it moves trains its a subsidy? Can you give us a list? I'm curious to see how other transportation modes fit into this.
Well I wasnt trying to pick
Well I wasnt trying to pick on the T , just the freeloaders that dont pay their fare share. As well as the others that abuse the good will of the taxpayers who fund the other programs , all in the name of having a kinder civilization. You need to worry more about the erosion of society than you do about the semantics of vocabulary. Maybe if everybody was a serious as fulfilling their responsibilities to society as they were to getting their rights to all things, we would have super number one highways and roads , and a spiffy public transportation system, with trolleys for everybody, especially South , Centre streets , and South Huntington ave. But if the programs that the good willed taxpayer fund are diluted by corruption , and it is deemed as acceptable, there goes your civilization.
Erosion of society
I'm pretty sure we have all lost far more, as a society, to the thieving one percenters who routinely steal billions from consumers and the public coffers through fraud, bribery of public officials, game-rigging, tax evasion, subsidies, and myriad other schemes than we could lose to a hundred million "welfare cheats" or fare evaders. Maybe if we could get some honesty and character at the top it would trickle down to the plebeians.
And I have to say that, from the perspective of an economic liberal and a person who is concerned with certain constitutional rights and basic issues of justice and fairness, the Obama presidency has been a complete turkey. I can't wait for him to be out of office- he becomes more depressing by the day. Not that you asked, kvn :).
I like Ike ! ( he invented
I like Ike ! ( he invented the military industrial complex , you know ) .
Indeed , we need a change of culture in America today, its becoming destructive out there. People dont realize the golden goose is getting a hysterectomy .
New national mantra :
Hi Ho Hi Ho , it's off to work I go , !
I like Ike ! ( he invented
I like Ike ! ( he invented the military industrial complex , you know ) .
Indeed , we need a change of culture in America today, its becoming destructive out there. People dont realize the golden goose is getting a hysterectomy .
New national mantra :
Hi Ho Hi Ho , it's off to work I go , !
Actually, Eisenhower in his
Actually, Eisenhower in his final speech as President condemned the growing power of the military-industrial complex... you can watch the speech on Youtube..
"...
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together...."
I like Ike ! ( he invented
I like Ike ! ( he invented the military industrial complex , you know ) .
Indeed , we need a change of culture in America today, its becoming destructive out there. People dont realize the golden goose is getting a hysterectomy .
New national mantra :
Hi Ho Hi Ho , it's off to work I go , !
nirvana fallacy
We have the 1%'ers stealing, so we shouldn't go after the people fare-jumping?
Yawn.
No. Classic nirvana fallacy.
New national mantra?
More like:
St. Peter don't ya call 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
Who was the accuser
Wait, so this didn't actually happen?
Who was the accuser?
Question for everyone: how should such an accusation be handled - report it or do research and report it?
A woman who doesn't want her
A woman who doesn't want her name used.
research!
look her up in OCPF
Deformation of character | You owe Charles Clemons an apology
From reading some of these threads everyone who bad mouth Charles Clemons need to call him and apologize.
This whole thing was made up and is a fabricated lie. Universal Hub I demand you take this article down and reach out to the candidate and make a public apology.
Do your research first before you publish!
Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Good
Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Good one.
Right
After he takes down his illegal radio station... Idiot!
Betcha nobody would try this with Dan Conley
But just for fun, somebody should try. Just make up some scurrilous tale about Conley that you "witnessed" and email it to Adam, saying that you want to remain anonymous. I bet it would get real interesting for UniversalHub, real fast.
Of course, just because the T cops couldn't find corroborating video doesn't mean it didn't happen.
No, I don't just print any random thing that comes my way
You're going to have to provide something to back it up or have some bona fides that make your story believable.
no need to fabricate re Conley
it's on video, a Globe columnist witnessed it; and there are many links to critical articles over the years - some by David Bernstein when he did investigative reporting...
http://blackstonian.com/info/2013/08/the-implosion...