Man busted tampering with red light cameras

A man accused of driving around Long Island and tampering with red-light cameras was arrested after police were tipped off about a YouTube video he made documenting his exploits, the New York Daily News reports.

Police received tips after Stephen Ruth, of Centereach, shared the video on Facebook that showed him re-aiming the cameras so they would not capture red light violators. He’s been charged with four counts of third-degree criminal tampering and four counts of second-degree obstruction of governmental administration.

Police identified 42-year-old Stephen Ruth as the suspect and arrested him at his Centereach home Tuesday afternoon. I did. If you want to see what I just did, it’s very simple.

“Of course I knew I would be arrested”, Ruth posted on Facebook. “Naturally, I thought I was going to be arrested”, he said of the tampering charge.

Rebel with a cause: Mr Ruth boasted that by taking this one camera out of commission he ‘just saved people about $10,000′. “I did it for the people who come back from war and get abused by these cameras”.

“Balls baby, Many men can find them in their wives purses”, he wrote in another Facebook post thanking someone for comparing him to Martin Luther King Jr.

‘It doesn’t take but more than a minute to do this, and the gratification…is huge, ‘ Ruth says in a satisfied tone.

Advocates for cameras that catch red-light runners point to data showing they reduce accidents. This is government taking advantage and it’s going to stop’. “These same people live in our state and pay lower insurance rates because their cars are registered out of state under someone else’s name”. A spokesman for the Suffolk County Executive said Wednesday, “There is never an excuse for vandalism or breaking the law”. One user simply replied “Amen” to Ruth’s Facebook manifesto. Government officials who support the initiative say the cameras prevent crashes by forcing drivers to hit the brakes when a traffic light turns yellow.