NEW YORK NEWSDAY
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/...80,print.story
Big Break Goes Bust
Publicity leads to vandalism charges for graffiti artist
By Wil Cruz
STAFF WRITER
October 8, 2003
A big break may have turned into a big bust for a Manhattan graffiti artist who created a backdrop for presidential candidate Howard Dean's visit to Bryant Park this summer.
Blake Lethem - aka KEO - was arrested Monday on an outstanding warrant from 1999, police said. Lethem, 36, and six others are accused of vandalizing nine subway cars at 148th Street and Lenox Avenue. He was charged with one count of criminal mischief in the third degree, a felony.
Lethem, a friend of a Dean campaign volunteer, garnered attention in August when his graffiti-inspired backdrop was criticized by some city officials, including the mayor's office, as painting a negative, outdated picture of New York.
Dean's campaign spokesman, Eric Schmeltzer, defended Lethem at the time, saying, "This is a very well-known, respected artist."
Lethem's fame grew, and a newspaper story featured him Sept. 26. The trouble was, the story was seen by a police officer who worked the 1999 graffiti case.
Six months after that incident, the officer saw Lethem on a public access TV show that was featuring the graffiti, cops said.
The officer - whom police did not identify - developed still photos from the video, and identified the artists. Two men were subsequently arrested in May and August 2000, police said.
The case died down for the next year or two, but after the story about Lethem appeared, the officer recognized him again.
Police still are searching for three suspects in the 1999 case; one has since died.
According to The Associated Press, Lethem was arraigned yesterday and released on his own recognizance.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
Linear Mode
