91 arrests for variety of mayhem on subway
Bust for wallet grab leads to new rap on vandalism
It seems there’s no stopping accused serial subway vandal Calvin Williams, who the MTA blames for tens of thousands of dollars of damage to subway platform digital information screens.
Williams, 55, has amassed a record of 91 arrests in the past 38 years, say police sources. Cops most recently busted him Monday, on charges of snatching a wallet from a 79-year-old woman at the 34th St./Herald Square subway station in Midtown.
That bust also led cops to charge Williams with criminal mischief for smashing seven digital screens at the same subway station last Thursday in a rampage that was caught on camera, said police.
On top of that, Williams faces a lawsuit filed by the MTA on Friday that seeks $33,000 for two other vandalism sprees in November.
Williams was arrested on Nov. 25 in those two caught-on-camera rampages, said cops. One was on Nov. 14, when he is accused of smashing four electronic screens at the 23rd St./Sixth Ave. station. Another was Nov. 23, when he is accused of smashing two more screens at the Herald Square stop.
The MTA wants restitution from Williams to cover the costs of vandalizing the screens, which are used for advertisements and service information.
The six screens damaged by Williams last month cost the agency $33,492 to replace or repair, according to the suit. The agency also claims Williams jumped turnstiles before each incident, and so added another $5.50 in subway fares to the lawsuit, bringing the total damages in the case to $33,497.50.
MTA officials said they would amend the suit against Williams or file a second one for damages to the seven screens he smashed last week.
“Destruction of transit property is senseless, unacceptable, and costly,” said MTA spokesman Tim Minton. “As we’ve said publicly and repeatedly, NYC Transit will seek restitution from perpetrators to ensure that they, and not New Yorkers, bear the consequences of vandalism that is not only expensive, but also deprives riders of important information and services.”
Williams’ criminal record dates to 1982, when he was charged with stabbing a man in the chest and neck in Brooklyn. He’s also been collared for jumping turnstiles, assault, burglary and forcible touching, sources said.
The MTA’s lawsuit against him is part of its effort to crack down on an uptick in subway vandalism that has caused transit officials headaches this year.
From May through August transit crews replaced more than 200 windows smashed by vandals on No. 7 line trains, which sparked a glass shortage that threatened to force the MTA to cut service on that line.
The MTA and NYPD in August put up a $12,500 bounty for information that would lead to the arrest of the window smasher, but came up dry. MTA chairman Pat Foye said at the time the agency planned to sue the vandals for damages if they were apprehended.