
MTA's tag in the Los Angeles River in January, 2008 / viewfromaloft
L.A. County sheriff’s deputies arrested eight
alleged members of the Metro Transit Assassins, the crew credited with the “MTA” tag on the walls of the Los Angeles River. The arrests were from series of early-morning raids Hollywood area this morning reports the LAT:
"These individuals are responsible for tags
not only in Los Angeles but Las Vegas and San Francisco,” said
Sheriff’s Cmdr. Dan Finkelstein, who is chief of the Metropolitan
Transit Authority police. “The Army Corps of Engineers estimates that
removing the "MTA" tag from the riverbed alone will cost $3.7 million.
Cleaning
graffiti from the river is far more expensive than cleaning other
areas. Officials use high-pressure water spray to remove the toxic
paint.
But hazardous-materials crews must then dam and capture all the
paint and water runoff to prevent it from getting into the river. The
crew did an additional $20,000 worth of damage to transit vehicles and
facilities. Finkelstein said the Los Angeles River "MTA" tag, in a vast
industrial district east of downtown between two rail yards, took about
400 gallons of paint -- 300 gallons white and 100 gallons black. “It
took them four nights to do it,” he said.
<snip to bling>
Most those detained are in their 20s; one of them drives a $60,000
BMW, and another member possesses a diamond-and-ruby-encrusted Metro
logo pendant with paperwork suggesting it's worth $29,000, Finkelstein
said.
So much for the argument of the downtrodden artist just seeking a place to do art for the sake of art.
ADD NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: By the way, LAT, that "industrial district east of downtown" is, of course, the Arts District.