Deal lost in transit
NYC’s ‘Train Man’ happily nixes plea
New York’s inveterate transit bandit was in jolly spirits Monday morning during a court appearance, bantering with the judge and joking around with his lawyer before rejecting yet another plea offer from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
“Hi, how are you?” bus and train fanatic Darius McCollum cheerfully asked Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Betty Williams after he was led into court sporting a new hearing aid, which he had waited for more than a year to receive.
McCollum, 50, suffers from limited hearing after spending much of his life around noisy subways and city bus depots.
“I’m fine. I’m glad to see you finally have your hearing aid,” the jurist responded.
The transit buff was in court on his most recent arrest, for commandeering a Greyhound bus from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in November 2015.
Prosecutor Christopher Myco offered yet another deal of 3¹/2 to seven years behind bars Monday, but McCollum’s attorney, Sally Butler, rejected it on his behalf.
“Why are you screaming?” the now aurally aided McCollum jokingly whispered to Butler after she spoke. She elbowed him playfully, and got a sheepish grin in return.
As a three-time felon, McCollum faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
The plea offer will remain on the table until he returns to court for hearings Dec. 13.
He could head to trial soon after, Butler said.
McCollum, who has Asperger’s syndrome, was first arrested at age 15 in 1980, for taking an E train on a six-stop joyride.
His love of the transit system has led to 30 more arrests since for similar offenses — including impersonating a subway worker, driving an MTA bus from Harlem to Queens Village, and taking a prison bus.
His court appearance Monday came just two weeks after a documentary about McCollum’s life began screening at the Lower East Side’s Metrograph theater to rave reviews.
A motion picture about him remains in the works, Butler confirmed outside court, adding she had read the script.
Julia Roberts has been tapped to play Butler, but McCollum’s role remains uncast. Butler said Denzel Washington is no longer in the running.