Monday, March 31, 2014

Bogus Parking Attendants Run Scam In Church Lot

The Tribune reports the Uptown equivalent of selling the Brooklyn Bridge:
Two Chicago men were arrested Saturday after they were caught selling parking spaces at an Uptown church for patrons attending an event at the nearby Aragon Ballroom, according to police and prosecutors.

A concerned citizen first alerted Chicago police to the fraudulent parking space sales going on at St. Thomas of Canterbury church in the 4800 block of North Kenmore Avenue, according to Cook County court documents.

Police saw Cornelius Upshaw, 54,  waving two cars into the church’s lot for $20 a pop, according to court records.
This has also happened at the Christopher House parking lot at Winthrop and Leland, where "parking attendants" have been known to cut the lock off, put on orange vests, and start waving in cars before concerts.

If you see something like this happening, give 911 a call, like the "concerned citizen" in the Trib's story.

4 comments:

  1. Hey at least two admitted gang members from different gangs were working together instead of shooting people!

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  2. It is nice to see that two guys from opposing gangs can come together to work for their common good.

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  3. Many drive in who aren't from the neighborhood and grab every parking space (when I had my jalopy,after driving home on a late Saturday night I would have to wait over an hour before I could find a parking space, thanks to an Aragon concert). I can see how they can be easily duped...

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  4. I've had to park in this church lot on concert nights because I live across the street and usually I move my car when it's over and everything's fine. On March 15th after I parked a guy with a flashlight was waving people in, but I don't think he was taking money. What he did, however, was call up Lincoln Towing an hour later and so they got all those cars at $200 each instead of $20 and apparently it was legal.I'm sure he got a kickback if he wasn't already an employee. I learned the hard way to just stay home on or take the CTA on nights that there are concerts at the Aragon. :(

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