THE NEWS HAS BROKE!!!

A graffiti vandal, making the second stop on what his lawyer called a “triborough tour” of the city’s courts, was conditionally discharged Thursday and was ordered to pay $5,000.

Alain Mariduena pleaded guilty in Manhattan in August to one count of third-degree criminal mischief for writing graffiti, much of it on subway cars, with his tag, KET. Conditional discharge means he must avoid future criminal conduct and pay his fine; the sentence differs from probation because it’s not court supervised.

According to his lawyer, Ronald Kuby, Mariduena’s tag has become known around the world.

Kuby said his client would be sentenced Friday for graffiti crimes in Brooklyn. In that case he is to be spared jail, fined $3,000 and ordered to paint a mural.

Last month, Mariduena, 36, was sentenced in Queens to probation and ordered to pay $1,274 in restitution and a $3,000 fine for graffiti offenses, Kuby said.

Mariduena, who lives in the Inwood section of Manhattan, said on his Web site that he pleaded guilty in all three cases to avoid prison. Kuby said Mariduena has retired from illegal graffiti.

Read More: New York graffiti vandal KET is fined $5,000
More: In Plea Deal, Artist Admits to Subway Graffiti in 3 Boroughs

So, Ket’s in some trouble and needs some serious help. Check out his montage:

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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

I can’t believe I missed this one! Last week Sohh reported:

Alain “Ket” Maridueña, former publisher of 90′s hip-hop magazine Stress was reportedly arrested yesterday for leaving his mark on subway trains and stations across New York City.

According to New York’s Daily News, 36-year-old Maridueña, who wrote graffiti under the alias Ket, was indicted in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens for 11 incidents of felony criminal mischief between 2004 and 2006. Maridueña turned himself in to the Brooklyn district attorney’s office yesterday (March 6).

I will stay on top of this one so stay tuned!