Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
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‘Notorious’ graffiti vandal held on bail
by Richard Weir, story courtesy of bostonherald.com
Date: 11/16/11
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John Biesiot
A “notorious” graffiti vandal — among the “dirty dozen” most wanted criminals highlighted in a front-page Herald article last year — is behind bars after being nabbed on charges that he defaced more than 30 subway and commuter rail cars, authorities said.
John Biesot, 33, was ordered held on $80,000 cash bail at his Dorchester District Court arraignment yesterday, a day after Transit Police escorted him from Chicago, where he was arrested last month after cops there observed him photographing fresh graffiti on a train, police said.
“He’s a big one. They’ve been chasing him for years,” MBTA Police Deputy Chief Lewis Best said, referring to Transit Police Lt. Detective Nancy O’Loughlin and Boston Police Detective Bill Kelley, part of a joint graffiti vandalism task force.
Biesot was featured in an August 2010 rogues’ gallery. Since then, nine of the dozen alleged lawbreakers have been arrested, four from Herald readers’ tips.
A member of the Dirty 30, O’Loughlin said, Biesot was wanted on eight warrants for a 2007-10 graffiti spree that caused more than $50,000 in damage, leaving trains from Alewife to Middleboro with his tag, “WYSE.”
“It’s satisfying to actually see an investigation come to fruition and have him held accountable,” O’Loughlin said.
Biesot’s attorney, Craig Havel, did not return calls.
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