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QUEENS---Kiko, a 28-year-old Manhattan resident charged with being one of New York City's more notorious graffiti taggers has pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief, among other charges, and admitted to extensively vandalizing public and private property in the Astoria and Long Island City sections of Queens County.
"The defendant, who is admittedly a notorious graffiti tagger, has pled guilty to vandalizing the Astoria and Long Island City sections of Queens County that left its wake thousands of dollars in damages to personal and public properties including Saint Demetrios Greek American School, Athens Square Park, the Powhattan Democratic Club and various individual homes" district attorney Richard Brown said. "Among the surfaces 'tagged' by the defendant were overpasses, trucks, walls, gates, garage doors, roof shingles and even trees. The defendant will now have a felony criminal record and will spend months behind bars to reflect upon his actions, in addition to having pay for the damage he caused."
"Graffiti is a symptom of crime and negatively affects the quality of life of all citizens through decreased property values, increased taxes and a financial burden on affected businesses and homes", Brown said. "City officials and anti-graffiti activists have done a remarkable job over the years in cleaning up New York City's image as a graffiti-scarred city. We cannot allow one individual to mar the beauty of our City and threaten to return us to the days when our transit system and our highways and buildings were covered with graffiti."
Oliver Siandre a/k/a "KIKO,"of 100 West 92 Street in Manhattan pleaded guilty to three counts of second degree criminal mischief, a class D felony, two counts of third degree criminal mischief and fourth degree criminal mischief before Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Kron. He is expected to be sentenced on Dec. 7 to six months in jail, five years probation and also be required to make restitution in the amount of $25,000 to the City and the business and home owners of the properties he damaged. In addition, it will be requested that the defendant be ordered to perform a substantial period of community service as a condition of his probation.
Brown said that Siandre admitted that, between September and December 2005, he spray painted his tag name "KIKO" and his crew's name "Crazy 8" or "C8" on various public and private properties in Queens County including a wall at St. Demetrios Greek American School, located at 30-03 30th Drive in Astoria; pillars, a tree and the ground inside Athens Square Park, located at 30th Avenue and 30th Street in Astoria; the garage door of the Powhattan Regular Democratic Club, located at 41-05 Newton Road in Long Island City; and an Metropolitan Transit Authority overpass. 10-23-06
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© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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