Pa. 'litter vigilante' cited for trash piles

[July 30, 2009]  PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh officials have cited a self-styled litter vigilante for making debris piles on city sidewalks.

Sixty-two-year-old Paul McCarthy says nobody else was cleaning up the trash and brush in his neighborhood, so he started doing it and calling the city to collect the piles.

Officials say they would be happy to coordinate on preplanned cleanups, but can't immediately send crews to clean up McCarthy's piles.

The officials cited McCarthy in hopes he'll agree to abide by city rules. If he does, they say they'll waive any fine from the citation.

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Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, http://www.post-gazette.com/

[Associated Press]

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