It can be said that meter maids are nuisances to people parking in metered spots. If you are in 2-hour parking you can never forget the lurking meter maid. Here is a story of a “meter maid mechanic” gone bad.

From the moment parking meter mechanic James Bagarozzo began his scheme to steal from the machines, his life became overrun with quarters. He stashed them in his pockets, in a sack in his truck, in closets at his house. As reported in www.telegram.com.

Over more than eight years, he brought home $210,000 worth of quarters - 10,500 pounds of them - which he dutifully rolled and packed in $500 boxes to be exchanged for cash at banks on his lunch hour.

Do you think addiction issues played a role in his behavior? Of course they did. In Bagarozzo’s case it was gambling.

A huge theft from the public till is the last thing Buffalo or any other major municipality hurting for money needs!

From 2003 through 2011, the meter mechanic spent the first half of every workday stealing from 70 to 75 meters. Rather than fix machines, he broke them so that quarters would collect on top where he could grab them with his hands instead of dropping into the collection canister.

Bagarozzo admitted his guilt and was sentenced to 2.5 years in the pokey. At the time of his arrest, investigators found $40,000 in cash in the ceiling of Bagarozzo's bedroom, $4,100 in a dresser and $3,000 worth of quarters in closets in bags and boxes around the house.

Using yet another excuse for his behavior, Bagarozzo said he began stealing in 2003 following a serious episode of Crohn's disease that left him believing he did not have long to live. That sounds like Walter White in the AMC hit “Breaking Bad.”

I hope he gets the proper stop theft education and counseling while in jail and comes out a better person.