2 1/2 to 5 years in a state prison, five years probation, a restitution…
This is the worst case of a judge gone wild that I have heard of in a graffiti case yet. Please see the article below that talks about the sentencing and the case of 22 year old Mfone from Pittsburgh. The case was brought to my attention by his good friend, Josh Wiechmann, who like me is appalled by the sentence. It is unusually harsh and unfair, I venture to say that the punishment is cruel and unusual as well. If everyone that reads this can please call or write the judge and let him know this is too much and just plain wrong it would be appreciated by him and his family and crew. The judges information is:
Allegheny County Judge Kevin G Sasinoski
office 412-350-2910
507 Courthouse
436 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
The kid has 10 days to appeal and needs support.
Article below:
Prolific graffiti vandal sentenced to state prison
Thursday, July 24, 2008
By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Prolific graffiti writer Daniel Montano was sentenced today to 2 1/2 to 5 years in a state prison, five years probation, a restitution of $232,582 and 2,500 hours of community service.
The 22-year-old Highland Park resident and a former student of the San Francisco Art Institute had a previous conviction and two cases pending last year when he was arrested again for the vandalism of 20 more properties in the city. He often used the tag “Mfone” on his writings.
His defense attorney, William Cercone, made the argument that addiction to numerous drugs set a talented, good son on a destructive course and that, after six months of incarceration, which included drug-and-alcohol treatment, “I see a different young man on my right than I did six months ago. Give him the opportunity to keep it going.”
Matthew Robinowitz, arguing for the Commonwealth, said Mr. Montano “has been given chances before. After arrests in 2006 and 2007, he said, “when he got out, it’s bigger and better than ever. . . What he learned was ‘I can get away with it,’ so he extended his operation. I think Mr. Montano is not going to learn his lesson. This is an issue of punishment, regardless of his talent.”
Allegheny County Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski called it “a very difficult case with a lot of unique issues,” including the fact that both his parents as well as family friends showed up in court to speak well of the defendant. He doubted the defense’s contention that substance abuse was a cause. “I’m not sure about the nexus between drug addiction and vandalism. You appear not to have any respect for anyone else’s property.”
Addressing the defendant, the judge said, “Mr. Montano, good luck to you. You still have the opportunity to pay your debt to society.”
More details in tomorrow’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
First published on July 24, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Posted on July 25, 2008 at 08:44 AM | Previous Entry | Next Entry | Entry List | Email Entry | Digg
Responses to this entry
There are 28 total comments about this entry. The most recent comment was posted 2 months ago...
I heard about this story a while back on the news. As i remember they originally tried to stack the charges so as to give this guy life in prison, CRAZY. And not to knock anyone, but as far as pittsburgh goes, prolific is not the word to describe this case as compared to other names around the city. Once again pittsburgh is trying to set an example. As disgusted as I am, this is all i have to say, heres where this judge’s morals are, property over life…
MAN ACQUITTED IN ROOMMATE’S DEATH
POSTED: 4:02 pm EDT May 25, 2006
-PITTSBURGH—A judge has acquitted a Carnegie man in connection with his roommate’s death.
Joseph Larkin was charged in the shooting death of Chad Mulvin in July 2004.
Mulvin’s body was found buried in Ohio Township.
The judge ruled Larkin acted in self-defense after the two men struggled over a rifle.
Prosecutors had alleged that Larkin went to great lengths to cover the crime.
you can read the rest of the story here…
http://zoltanzion.blogspot.com/2007/07/chad-mulvin-never-forgotten.html
hey - we all appreciate your support.
This is one of danny’s best friends and crewmate. Could you drop me an email please? I have some questions I want to ask you about some fund raising we are trying to get started
peace and thanks
man living in pittsburgh, no one is up anymore since this cat went down. the city is installing 250 cameras around “graffiti hot-spots.” theyre merely trying to make an example. shout to HERT for rolling through and throwing kliing shit around the city. it sucks so bad for MFONE though. originally when i read the story last year, he was facing decades in prision and 500,000 dollar fine.
In case you don’t have time to write yourself, feel free to copy and paste. I thought it’d be best not to play the art card. This monster’s clearly got a thick skull.
Judge Sasinosky,
I am writing to protest what I believe to be a grossly inappropriate sentence in the case of Daniel Montano. While I completely understand the desire to “set an example” for other vandals, and believe that this sentence would deter criminals in the future I DO NOT believe that, in this case, the ends justify the means. If your goal is simply to give vandals a “reality check,” why not extend the sentence to 15 years? 25? The sentence MUST be appropriate to HIS crime, and I believe that it has been made unfairly harsh in order to make a statement.
On another note, you have dismissed the idea, without any scientific basis, that graffiti is not a compulsive or addictive behavior. You ARE mistaken. Graffiti is an incredibly addictive behavior that damages the property of its victims and can destroy the lives of its perpetrators.
I urge you to reconsider this sentence, and to give Mr. Montano his OWN debt to repay, not the debt of an entire subculture of vandals.
Very sincerely,
________
^ shut up above, fuck that shit.......nigga.
cant sugar coat crimes my nigga!
otha niggaz done way mo time and came out on top.
-5000
The point isn’t about whether people do more time or more crime. The point is that judges should not treat property crimes with such harsh penalties. Basically, the judge is trying to ruin this guy’s left to set an example. What kind of sense does that make? Write the judge, call the judge. Sugar coat crimes. I don’t even believe that half the things he was charged with should be crimes anyway! Painting on a wall that is bombed or abandoned a crime? I think not.
check this out: http://burghreport.blogspot.com/2008/07/yes-vandal-gets-prison-time.html
this is how some of pittsburgh’s finest residents are handling this after the fact. I am continuously grateful for all the support and positive feedback. I hope we can make a difference, and I hope we can send a message. But I suppose at this pont it’s a uphill battle, but one worth fighting for. thanks again all!!!
Newsflash: Graffiti is a crime punishable by jail, restitution, fines, etc. If you are going to go out and fuck up private or public property then prepare to go to jail. If Graffiti was not illegal it wouldn’t be cool. Half of graff’s appeal is the risk and weighing of odds. Stop fucking complaining about sentencing for graffiti, if you cant do the time then dont do the crime!!
2.5 years sounds about right for a repeat offender who has done a significant amount of damage (in monetary terms) to property owned by non-consenting citizens. The punishment is not cruel or unusual--it is jail. Just because graffiti may be artistic or otherwise meritorious doesn’t change the fact that its a crime/invasion of another person’s right to enjoy their own property as they see fit; nor does its addictive nature detract from the fact that an actor knowingly and intentionally creates graffiti with the purpose (at least to some extent) of damaging property for the sake of it. If your going to do graffiti just accept the fact that its not something society tolerates and there will be a price to pay for your actions, and please stop bitching and whining about jail time--arent graff writers supposed to deal with jail? i always thought that was just part of the game.
Yes, street bombing is a crime and repeat offender should be prepared to deal with the consequences of his actions because he has been warned. However, I disagree with the notion of graffiti as"fucking up” private property. In my opinion the property doesn’t get “fucked up” if it has a tag or a piece on it. Many times the property actually looks better. When a tag is placed on the wall the wall does not lose any of its structural integrity and can continue to do what it was designed to do.
As far as graffiti not being cool if it wasn’t illegal, that may or may not be true. Legalize it and then we can talk about that one. There are crimes out there that I believe deserve jail time; graffiti in my mind is not one of them. When I was growing up writers did not go to jail. Graffiti was not a “jail” crime. Now its out of control.
And as far as the bitching and whining comment goes, well, if we didn’t speak up, protest, or take action about things we are passionate about we might as well be dead. If we don’t agree with the system we should act up, not roll over. Jail should not be part of the game.
I’m a former graffitti writer and now, landlord. I don’t appreciate it when my properties are vandalized. I spent over 10 thousand dollars in the past three years to remove graffiti from my buildings. Not to mention, had to have a company van repainted. It’s not cool at all. Do I want Mr. Mfone or whatever his name is to do 5 years? Not really, but if it sends a message that vandalizing private property has it’s consequences, then so be it. Graffiti belonged on the trains. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. Plain and simple.
Mr. Ket, I just took time to read your response to Don Daadaa and I have to say that I lost a lot of respect for your intelligence or lack of. It’s ridiculous to say that graffiti doesn’t fuck up property and often makes it look better. If I wanted graffiti on my property, I’ll do it myself or pay for it, but it’s not up to some loser to take that liberty on himself. It’s my property. If you really believe in this nonsense, then let me tag up all over your clothes and see how you feel about it. I bet you won’t like it. I should write the judge and ask for a harsher sentence for Mr. Mfone. Let him eat cockmeat sandwiches for 5 years.
this sentence is absolutely mental, i was given 2.5 years for graffiti but thankfully the appeal judges in my case realised it was crazy and quashed my sentence after 2 months........but this?? this takes the cake! the judge has effectively ruined this guys life, even when this guy gets through his rediculous jail sentence, he still has years worth of community work to do, and on top of that he’ll be paying fines till the end of his days?? all for what .. changing the colour of a few walls? ..and i thought scotland was bad
i really hope this dude has grounds for an appeal
Y’all all pussies, crying about sum bitch ass time. I did 12 years for blowing the head off a negro and I proudly did my time like a goddamm man. You spraycan kids are a bunch of wussies!
First a response to Jake 182,
It’s always sad to me when former writers cross over and become just like the rest of the civilians, worse when they become part of the elite class of landlords or land owners. Well, thats if suddenly the ownership causes them some crisis in which they are no longer down with this movement. Ultimately, Jake, you choose to be a landlord, that’s your thing. Yes, it might suck for you to have the added expense but this is city life and its well, part of doing business in the big city. Will your buildings fall apart due to the paint? no. Will it make it harder for you to hike up the rents? Maybe. BTW, I am sure that jail time is the wrong message to send to kids. This doesn’t deter anyone. And perhaps the argument shouldn’t be if you can’t do the crime don’t do the crime. In this case maybe it’s the crime doesn’t fit the punishment. All of a sudden you feel like a winner because you own a building and the writer is a loser. Check yourself homie. Owning a building doesn’t make you a winner nor does getting busted make you a loser. Both are temporary. Lastly, its the exterior of the building, not the interior, I say this because your private space is not being violated. It’s the building that all your neighbors have to look at, its part of the shared world we live in. Thanks for joining the elitist class with your attitude and leaving your roots behind.
And to Cracka Man, sorry to hear you take pride in killing someone and that you had to kill anyone. Don’t see how doing time makes you more of a man than anyone else or less of a pussy.
You folks sound like you have been fully indoctrinated into the system. Wake up.
Just because jake182 is a property owner - does that make him “elite”? Should he walk around with a top hat, walking stick and a monocle? That sounds silly. Also, do you really feel its okay for people to run around with paint or markers and write anything they want on anything they want?
Is he really joining the “elitist” class because he wants to keep his property free of graffiti - thats HIS choice. Lets say you owned a car and you came out one day and some kids tagged up on it- you wouldn’t mind??? i think you would be pretty pissed off.
We all know that its wrong and we all know the consequences - is the punishment harsh for graffiti - in this case i say no because he was caught twice and didn’t heed the warnings. We all took risks writing, some of us even died doing it, but we all knew what the consequences of our actions were
who reads ket’s blog and doesn’t like graffiti??
Yes, just because Jake is a property owner does make him elite.
Ket painting on someone’s home ,building, business etc is straight up wack and thats fact. Your comment above to Jake is very toy and immature. For someone of your stature I find it really lame that you would advocate people writing on privately owned property.
Graffiti has and alway has been a message against the system i.e.(government infrastructure) subways, bridges , rail lines , so on a so forth. Don’t get it twisted.
hmm.. that sucks doesn’t it.
OK, so how many times do you need to be arrested before you learn? After as many times as he has been arrested, it is time for him to be incarcerated to give him time to think about committing crimes. Good lord people, You know it is wrong, you know it is against the law, yet you make the decision to go out and break the law, not once, not twice, not three times........Obvious that he has no respect for the laws of the land, the property of others, or what law abiding citizens think and feel. It is all about fulfilling his need, and screw everyone else… sorry, I do not feel a bit sorry for him and as more and more judges stop treating these criminals like children, it will help stop people from vandalizing the property of others. Do whatever you want on your own property, just leave the property that does not belong to you, alone! Simple!
wow, sounds like an anti-graffiti thread. All of a sudden writing on buildings is seen as a negative thing in a writer’s thread. I’m not mad, just surprised. And since when does things being illegal or against the law mean anything, really. We send kids to jail for years and meanwhile corporate Ceo’s rip off investors and then get bailed out by the government and not only do they not go to jail but they keep their millions. Or how about the polluters who who poison our air. No jail time. Or the President that illegally approves wire taps, no jail time. Give me a break that we need to put people like this in jail. We need to let him loose in the neighborhoods of the rich who have been exploiting the poor for generations. Write on the corporations who just get over every day.
It’s about the flavor of the moment,it all depend’s
on timing - and who’s blowing smoke up who’s ass ....
Doesn’t everyone know by now- Washington
is playing Hollywood and Hollywood is playing the role of Washington
it’s truly a bizzaro world -(it’ start’s at the tip then it’s all trickled down) ...
People shoudnt take it personal -someone gotta be that sacrificial lamb
just prey to God it aint you ---once that lamb is slayed it’s party time again ......
unless that particular event set’s a new presadent and then they congregate n make up some new bullshit law’s
that dont protect us nor apply to them cause they roll around witt special credentials n plaques on ther bumpers
your powerless - allot shit is predetermined why
fight it! stress will kill yah quicker than anything ...
So may as well just breath easy - cause that’s what the fuk they do-
Any experience i ever had in court, i came in ther gun’s blazin, blowin steem n spttin feather’s.
Everyone in ther was lookin at me like i was nut’s ,n ther all chillin the fuk out they just smoked a joint or somthin,
while im red in the fase ...
No more, im easy- like sunday mornng ,fly real low under the radar
i mean even goin to the beach , you know how many rules ther are just to walk down the beach ?
like 15 no radio playin no spittin no scratching your fukin asss!!
let them spit feather’s!! -
fight the power!!!! -
Someday we will over come!
we shall meet brother to another -
we travelled light years mentally we wise;)
IM CLEAR!!!!
You wanna play the blame game? who should or shouldn’t write on what?
I agree i was a train bomber and really didn’t care for street bombing at all
you know (shit wer you eatin n all that) ...........
it was once confined to the transit system
then they started making graftti proof train’s
and kids went able to write on trains -so it went on to the streeets - now it’s world wide-
yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah mutha fukkeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you got a beef for somone writin on your shit ,takin it up with
the New York city Mta asshole!!!! - ether that or raze JOZ from the dead cause that brotha set if off propa!!!
i used see Keith haring doing his thing with chalk yes CHALK on blank blotters wer they
placed advertising in the subway, n used to laugh n say- this guy is bombin with chalk loll
chalk loll -----THEY ARRESTED HIM 4 CHALK! MORE THAN ONE ONCE -( flava of the moment)
all the causes & philanthropy that man did for children’s hospitals n schools n playgrounds,it was a crying shame
to put that man in jail even for a moment!!! shame on you all- im pissd off now!!!!!!!!!!
im not blogging any more for a while - i managed to make my self sick to my stomach ...................................
yup the systum sucks. law and order and all that. ya i understand your building got bombed. enyhow easy and joz bring back some memorys. like all the roll down metal gates got killed by.JOZ ... SAINT TMR and FIB did damage out along the highway thing. i realy liked rideing the ...wack… graff proof metal trains and i would get up in the front car and peer out the front window into the tunels.. ya really deep deep deep in there.. like every light or even like low light stuff. like my train would shine on the tunnel walls. enyhow it would blow my mind to see JAone XTC. yo.. all over like every tunnel.. tags big throups.. yo.. the silvers and whites worked exelent on the dirt rich tunnel walls.. yo good luck to you.
i hope you can preevale win and also change stuff. KET… eny how this thing like.. there going after you years later.. ya there are meny holes in there charges…
i personaly try to live by OB 1 s advice.. NO IMMPEERREAL INTANGGALLMENT. basically the pros dont get cought.
unfortchanitly for me i will never by into a bunch of systum bullshit .. theres always a way never give up .. we will eeventully win somehow. one lesson illpasson to you is like crime is crime so yousing fake names to grow money trees is nessary.. money money money always about the fukin money… MAN I CANT WAIT TO GO BOMBING PEACING TAGGING THRO UP ING.. i hear the montana paint is the shit.. heavy on can preshure and lots of cool collors.. i saw this paint in toronto that was desined to work in freezing cold weather.. so let me tell you im 34 and will notstop writeing at 94. so when the rooms get pumpin i belive i will have the income to not steel paint but by cases of montana from spain fat caps thin outline caps and all those new school fat mop markers there making now.. and when the sun goes down .. i will go back out yet again and stake my claim on the game..... hay if it makes you feel eny better i did a day in jail and comunity service for hitting funking dead trains. ya they wereint runnin jest rustin away at this ghost yard in qweens.. eny how i had my peace all dun.. but back then ACID was like help me with my peace.. but by this time it was now morning.. i was like dude its time to bail.. but he kept us painting.. enyhow we got raided sundaymorning.. the pigs kept asking me about BRUZ… and bla bla bla .. i tried to tell them it was art.. they dident see it like that.. i dident tell them shit… enyhow i was under 18 first affense so i gess it was light.. as far as holes in a case what ever there doing with your photo alblums .. its hard to proove the time and date on that stuff. and it isnot a picture of you .. so like maybe those photos were done years ago .. like you could proove if nessary you were 16 or 17 a minnor.. jest a thought.. not saying what is what.. or what to do…
so ya the graff thing.. possesed by those moving hunks of metal we call trains. i understand.. ya know if someone took a metal burning tourch into those mta train yards you could do like metal burning fades and thro ups that they COULDNOT buff off.. ya reel hardcore.. and yup your shit would run.. however man they would charge up the dammages cuz the cost of a new train car.. well you understand.. and ya calm down cuz now ones dun it yet..
eny how i thinking about FREIGHTS.. so one day maybe one day soon when i get my money right i will let loose again.. im talkin a non stop run for the chapionship..so peace to the graff seen..the writers.. yes expand the mind..... and i like it fool..........
in closeing im going to add that THE REAL UNNIVERSE IS REAL.. we are curently on a planet spinning throue space right now.. i know cuz of gravidee you might of forgot.. so this concept to limit peoples personal developement controll there behaveyour ect.. cuz of a antiqwated systum like thing .. money and paying taxes to fund a oil war ect.. thrue music and art peeps can develope past the level of robots.. some ones dun it .. reached inlightenment.. the MATRIX wont win.. i personallee bailed up to canada.. and YAAAA.. its much freer up heer.. and less inforced.. like a few less pigs.. the peeps are thinking a lital cleerer up heer outside of ammerica.. good graff seen and stuff is realy hitable.. i cant realy live untill my personal rights to express myself thro art and music non stop are 100 per sent unincumbered.. the dark systum ses NO.. unfortinatlee alot comes back to money..
SO KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL KID ......................................................................
THE REAL UNNIVERSE IS FREE....................................................................................
yo yo jest a small folloo up coment. like i sed im uptown in canada.. surfed a bit more web. checked out
support KET .org ... and yup what it sed on that site is that you pulled it off and hit a HOME RUN.. NICEe....!.......!…
O..... im sure it was a night mare and all that .. and some thing like if you ever get pinched they say they got weight on you. i hope there some kind of time limit on that shit.. but a world series level home run hit on that homeboy. NO JAIL…
COOL.............. painting a mural a upside.. ya my coment about kats photos.. computer data might be sketchee if seezed.. but dam analog photo alblums. ya i would say like you cant prove thats me its another ket.. im not a lawyer man and dont know the ins and outs of the case.
so HOME RUN nun the less.. mad support from from heads is dope… and ya handeled correctlee make a deal and get the FUK out of there.. more time to fight and feed the systum and spin money like a washingmachine. ya get the fuk out of there. NICEeeee… yo the systum sucked its money down. like i dont no. sounded like over a 100 grand.. but peace the fuk out to the jail thing.. no jail .. win that shit kid...........................................................................................
and yo the pigs kept my gregory mountin climeing back pack.. off course what paint we had left .. and our freekin video tape and video camera.. and man back then a video camera was like atleast a grand as i reecall. O… hay but i did my comunity service at this big fine art muesseam in nyc and finished teaching 5 6 and 7 year olds how to do bubble letters on huge rolls of paper down in soho at some art school.. ya you win some you lose some. but i’ll still grab a can and go out and get some.
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thanks for looking out and posting this, any help danny can get i’m sure is appreciated. pretty astonishing that he got slapped harder than your average child molester. unless people wake up and say this isnt gunna to fly it could be come the norm