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'Subway vigilante' Bernie Goetz arrested for selling marijuana - NY Daily News

realizm

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realizm

realizm

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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/subway-vigilante-bernie-goetz-arrested-peddling-pot-article-1.1504621
 

'Subway vigilante' Bernie Goetz arrested for selling marijuana to undercover officer: cops

Goetz, 65, who divided the city after shooting four black teens on the No. 2 train in 1984, reportedly asked a female undercover officer in Union Square Park on Friday if 'she wanted to get high,’ a source says. Goetz sold her $30 worth of weed, and he was cuffed moments later.
 

goetz-trial.jpg
MARTY LEDERHANDLER/AP

 

Bernie Goetz was arrested Friday after allegedly selling a small amount of marijuana to an undercover cop. Here, Goetz holds a news conference at New York's City Hall in May 1990 while facing a civil lawsuit filed by Darrell Cabey, who was paralyzed by Goetz's gunfire.

 He went from tokens to toking.
 
“Subway vigilante” Bernie Goetz has turned to peddling pot, cops say, decades after he pumped five shots into four black teenagers, skyrocketing him to national fame and infamy.
 
The gunman, who divided the city after shooting four black teens in 1984, was arrested in Manhattan after selling a small amount of marijuana to an undercover narcotics cop Friday evening, police said.
 
goetz2n-2-web.jpg

Daily News The front page of the Daily News on Dec. 23, 1984. The city was divided after the shooting of the four black teens.

Goetz, who will be celebrating his 66th birthday next Thursday, reportedly chatted up the undercover female officer at Union Square Park at about 5:30 p.m. and “asked her if she wanted to get high,” according to one police source.

 

When she agreed, Goetz ran off to his home and returned with $30 worth of weed, which he sold to the undercover officer at Fifth Ave. and W. 14th St., officials said.

 

goetz.jpg

Schwartz, Michael Goetz arriving at Bronx Supreme Court to face Cabey's $50 million lawsuit against him.
 
The cop cuffed Goetz a few moments later, charging him with criminal sale of marijuana.
 
Police sources said they weren’t targeting Goetz specifically — he just happened to cross paths with the undercover officer assigned to cracking down on ganja peddlers in the park.
 
Sources describe the undercover cop as “young,” but police officials would not disclose her age — or if she was even alive when Goetz was a household name in Gotham.
 
goetz2n-9-web.jpg

Daily News Goetz's face was splashed on papers across the country after he fired five shots at teenagers who asked him for money on the No. 2 train. Here, the front page of The News on Jan. 2, 1985.
 
 
The nebbishy electronics entrepreneur’s face was splashed on papers across the country after he fired five shots at Darrell Cabey, Barry Allen, Troy Canty and James Ramseur while riding a No. 2 train under Manhattan. The fusillade came after the 19-year-olds asked him for $5 on Dec. 22, 1984.
 
All four teens were hit, and Cabey was left paralyzed.
 
goetz.jpg
Schwartz, Michael Darrell Cabey with his family waiting outside Bronx Supreme Court after a morning session of his case against Goetz.

The straphanger — who had been mugged on a train three years earlier and as a result carried the .38 caliber Smith & Wesson he used in the shooting — insisted it was a robbery, not a request for generosity, and claimed he shot at the foursome in self-defense. Ramseur was carrying a screwdriver, officials said at the time.
 
A jury acquitted Goetz of attempted murder charges in the headline-grabbing trial where some in the racially divided era hailed him as a hero.
 
bernhard-goetz.jpg
Charles Arrigo/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bernie Goetz speaking in a Bronx courtroom on April 27, 1990, petitioning New York State Supreme Court to dismiss a $50 million civil suit filed against him by shooting victim Darrell Cabey, who was left paralyzed from the shooting.

He was ultimately convicted of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and sentenced to six months in jail.
Yet Goetz’s 15 minutes of fame proved costly: He filed for bankruptcy in 1996 after Cabey won a civil suit against him and was awarded $43 million in damages.
 
Goetz also lost bids for mayor in 2001 and public advocate in 2005.
 
goetz2n-10-web.jpg

AgfaScns The front of the Daily News on Jan. 17, 1988. A jury acquitted Goetz of attempted murder charges in the headline-grabbing trail.

He last graced the pages of the Daily News in 2011, after Ramseur was found dead of a prescription drug overdose 27 years to the day Goetz shot him.

“It sounds like he was depressed,” Goetz told The News.
 
goetz2n-7-web.jpg
 Roca, JohnJames Ramseur, one of the four teens shot by Bernie Goetz on the No. 2 train in 1984.

Cabey remains in a wheelchair and lives in upstate New York, said his attorney, Ron Kuby. “Maybe his small crew of bigots and yahoos will come out to support him,” Kuby said of Goetz.“On the other hand, maybe I can garnish the profits on his dope business.” Goetz’s arraignment was pending Friday night.
 


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/subway-vigilante-bernie-goetz-arrested-peddling-pot-article-1.1504621#ixzz2jgbvKpgq

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Turbo19

Turbo19

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So, the wannabe cop is back in the news.

 

The fact that he sold some dope isn't what gets me, rather it's events prior, which I'm sure are going to be used against his favor, rightfully so no question.


At the end of the day throw him in general population and be done with it.

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realizm

realizm

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NYC of the 80's seems to be a quite scary world.

 

Yes it was a very violent time in the Big Apple. Also the case with the 90's. As of now we are actually at an all time low in terms of the murder rate, but I believe that robberies are up.

 

Tough gun laws is one of the reasons. Keep in mind that Goetz used an illegal firearm. Since the Guliani administration new laws has passed in Albany on gun control, which are the toughest anti gun laws in the entire country as of 2013. This and many other reasons such as reforms in the NYPD was why the rate of crime dropped since the turbulent 80's .

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bobtehpanda

bobtehpanda

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It's a shame that the lack of guns for law abiding citizens leaves them open to all the more danger. You can't always protect yourself with fists and a boxcutter.

 

With the amount of stressed out people and idiots in this city, I suspect that mass gun ownership in the boroughs would cause more problems than solutions. There have been a fair amount of cases where legally owned guns in New York have caused more harm than good (most notably, didn't some football dude accidentally shoot himself in the foot in some New Jersey club?)

 

Actually, a large issue is the fact that our police aren't exactly the best at firearms, but they're also very trigger-happy. Cases in point include the bystanders shot when police were chasing someone down Broadway a while back, and the Sean Bell shooting way back when.

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bobtehpanda

bobtehpanda

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The result of a socioeconomic crisis in New York City.

 

I don't think we can chalk it up that easy. At least for the past century, New York City has been more stressed than the rest of the country. This is not a place you live in if you want a laid back, relaxed life.

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