Man irate over ticket allegedly topples 'Moses'

[April 07, 2009]  WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- A man allegedly upset about a 20-year-old unpaid speeding ticket that was preventing him from renewing his license was charged with pushing over a nearly 150-year-old statue of Moses in a Worcester courthouse.

Police said a 42-year-old man heavily damaged the 8-foot, 4-inch hollow plaster statue on Thursday after storming out of the clerk's office following a dispute over a $165 ticket.

The man allegedly took his frustration out on the biblical lawmaker, with a uniformed state trooper standing about 15 feet away. Trooper James Ellis told the Telegram & Gazette that the man appeared "very agitated, very upset."

He was charged with malicious destruction of property, disturbing the peace and being a disorderly person.

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Information from: Telegram & Gazette, http://www.telegram.com/

[Associated Press]

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