Ukrainian Emigrants Robbed New York Parking Meters

A group of Ukrainian emigrants have been charged with stealing of at least $250,000 from the New York city treasury. The New York State Attorney's files imply that five emigrants - Andrey Nekhailo (31), Roman Plisak (35), Oleg Manzhelei (45), and 29-year-old Ostap Kapelyushny and Grigory Bazar had robbed city parking meters for two years. According to Eliot Spitzer, the New York State Attorney, the group started their activities in January, 1999 when one of its members stole a parking meter. He dismantled the lock and made a key matching virtually all devices standing on New York streets. The swindler produced several copies of the key for his accomplices to ransack parking meters at night. According to the prosecution, Ukrainian emigrants gained some $3,000 each night, and deprived the city treasury of a total of $2 million. The five went to "work" by personal Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus.