The 20-year-old Staten Islander who cops refer to as the borough’s top graffiti vandal is due back in Stapleton Criminal Court today where he faces a laundry list of graffiti-related charges.

Russell Farriola, 20, of West Brighton, who cops say goes by the graffiti tag “Aloe,” is accused of committing 48 separate acts of graffiti over a 10-month period when he was arrested earlier this year, according to court papers.

Good luck Aloe.

Just caught this one today.

A company called Graffiti Tracker Inc. provides GPS and Internet technology to assist government officials in researching and analyzing graffiti markings before they are removed.

As a result, vandals can be linked to more than one drawing and ultimately be prosecuted for several vandalism violations at once.

Founder Tim Kephart said Indio police will receive this free system on a trial basis for one year.

“I’m very excited about this opportunity,” said Kephart. “The Indio police departments are motivated hard chargers who will act on the intelligence we’re providing. There is actual evidence that these messages can be decoded, but they must be documented before they are painted over.”

Read More: Graffiti fight gets help from technology

And more related news:
Fontana to adopt system as well! Source: Expert to discuss ways to combat graffiti

Stories like this are becoming more and more common, unfortunately.

Graffiti taggers who caused more than $500,000 in damage were sentenced to 16 months each in prison.

The three men were sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty in Antelope Valley Superior Court to felony charges ranging from vandalism to marijuana possession.

Authorities said the trio formed a Palmdale-based graffiti “crew” that spray-painted the California Aqueduct and freight trains, billboards, bus shelters and freeway walls in the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys and Kern County.

They committed more than 5,000 acts of graffiti, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Detective Bob Schneider said.

“Sixteen months in prison, I think, was a gift for the amount of damage they’ve done,” Schneider said.

The men were arrested in March after a two-month investigation.

Prosecutors have asked that the men be required to pay more than $155,000 in restitution. A court hearing on the restitution matter was scheduled for June 13.

Source: 3 sentenced for $500,000 in SoCal graffiti damage

All I can say is WOW and this guy should have got himself a real lawyer…I’m sure all he had was a lame Public Defender, poor guy.

An Oxnard teen will be the first in California to serve prison time for tagging.
Daniel Juarez pleaded guilty to 40 counts of graffiti vandalism and will serve 16 months in state prison as part of a plea agreement. Both the D-A and Oxnard Police believe that 19-year-old Daniel Juarez will become the first tagger ever in California to go to state prison for graffiti vandalism.

Read More: Tagger to Serve Prison Sentence

I told you I’de stay on top of this story.

Relying on computer evidence seized from his Manhattan home last October, the district attorneys in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens have charged Mr. Ket under his real name, Alain Maridueña, with 14 criminal counts, including trespass, criminal mischief and making graffiti. If convicted, he could potentially face decades in prison and huge financial penalties.

Mr. Maridueña is charged with painting several recent images on subway cars, a form of graffiti vandalism that has largely died out since the early 1990s. But his case, and his recent professional history, underscore how graffiti has been propelled from the shadowy corners of the subway system into a global genre of virtual images circulated on the Internet, and become a powerful influence in design, fashion and graphics.

The case could pose an important test for prosecutors and the police, since Mr. Maridueña was never caught in the act and has no previous criminal record in New York City. Instead, the government’s case appears to be based largely on what prosecutors say is the unmistakable detail of his graffiti signature — his “KET” tag — and the fact that the tag is visible on photographs of illegal subway graffiti that were entered into Mr. Maridueña’s home computer only hours after identical work was discovered on subway cars.

Read More: Graffiti Figure Admired as Artist Now Faces Vandalism Charges

Just caught this one from the nightly news here in southern California. There’s video of his work, just follow the link.

Police call it vandalism, he calls it art. Steven Gonzalez (aka ORGY) was facing prison time for tagging public and private property, but he won’t serve a day. John Schwada explains who paid the price for this tagger’s crime.

Source: Home Loan Pays for Tagger’s Crime

Some of ORGY’s work can be found here, in this short video clip titled “Acts of Bravery.” – within the first few seconds of the clip his work is on the underside of a freeway bridge in Los Angeles.

It has been confirmed. New York based graffiti legend and music junkie Joey Semz was found dead on April 7, 2007. Confirmation.

Born in Staten Island, New York, in 1976, SEMZ first started to look at graffiti in 1983. “I was in second grade,” he recalls. “I rarely paid attention in class because I was constantly sketching graffiti in my notebook. During that time, when I was seven years old, I traveled to my grandparents house in Brooklyn every Sunday for family dinner. On the way there, the Belt Parkway had a stretch of thousands of feet of graffiti covered walls. Some of the names I remember were FIB, JIS, DC, SPIN BUST, and JENZ. I saw these names as a book I would read, telling a story of a soldier trooping though the city, leaving his name on everything in his path until there was no more ground to conquer. I conquered my ground and I am happy. I am SEMZ, the only one.

“I really started writing, or got good at my lettering, around 1990. Every school night, I stormed my neighborhood with markers I would steal from the local pharmacy. In the mid-90s, my name was a diseased plague all throughout the borough of Staten Island. I was obsessed and I knew I was good at what I did. My heart and mind were there, so I took it All City in 1997. Little did I know, at some point around the year 2000, every writer in New York knew my name. …Read more at PowerHouse Books.

Joey Semz memorial:
Today, Mon. 7-9pm.
Tomorrow 2-4 and 7-9.
Caseys Funeral Home 350 slosson ave. Staten Island, NY
http://semz.spent2000.com/

So, I’m searching for some new stuff to post tonight when I stumbled onto this news piece from Las Vegas, NV local news KVBC, News 3 Nightside. In the video piece they basically speak about the trials and tribulations associated with cleaning up graffiti in Las Vegas, all-the-while showing a brand new throw-up of TKO on the back of a suspended freeway sign and on another suspended freeway sign the moniker SWYPE is thrown-up (fairly clean for where it’s at) in black and white.
Check out the following link to see the video and read the news article.

The cost of cleaning up graffiti

Well, not quite. At least not yet. Be expecting SABER’s artwork to appear on your cell phones soon though. I would bet on him producing wallpapers, icons, and other various artistically inspired content for the phones, but we will have to wait and see.

Here’s a news article I’m sure you’ll love.

IRVINE, Calif.–Boost Mobile® today announced an exclusive mobile art content collaboration with Los Angeles-based artist SABER, also known for painting the world’s largest street art piece, enabling Boost’s youth wireless customers an opportunity to own a piece of iconic artwork from the renowned artist on their Boost Mobile phone.

“SABER’s work is original, distinctive and groundbreaking,” said Jeff Park, director of business development, Boost Mobile. “His artwork sets the standard for the emerging street art scene and Boost Mobile is fortunate to align with such a legendary icon to collaborate and share his amazing work exclusively with our customers.”

Boost Mobile’s support of a creative lifestyle, culture and attitude is represented by this exclusive deal as an extension of the brand’s commitment to enhancing the youth wireless experience. Boost also plans to collaborate with the artist to design limited edition products that are relevant to mobile communication and pop culture.

You can read the entire article here.

The news just never stopped this week:

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Gruel wants San Fernando Valley residents to help kick-off a “graffiti crackdown.”

Greuel, police and school district officials will declare a “war on graffiti” during a community forum Wednesday night at Grant High School in Valley Glen.

It is part of a plan to eliminate gangs, starting with their symbols and tags, NBC4′s Robert Kovacik reported.

Read the entire article.