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Houston Man Paying $1 Parking Ticket 58 Years Late

58yearold Ticket

12/20/11 05:35 PM ET   AP

HOUSTON -- A Houston man says he wants to clear his own conscience and pay a $1 parking ticket he got 58 years ago, even though the city's traffic violation records have been purged.

Dale Crawford sent a letter to city officials after finding the ticket among some keepsakes. He says it's a debt that he wants to pay, though it's a "small, almost unnoticeable amount."

Crawford received the ticket Feb. 3, 1953, the day he was inducted into the Army. He left his 1946 Nash at a parking meter at the induction station. When his dad was late retrieving the car, it had been ticketed.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker says she'll personally accept Crawford's payment Wednesday and thank him for setting an example for others who owe debts to the city.

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HOUSTON -- A Houston man says he wants to clear his own conscience and pay a $1 parking ticket he got 58 years ago, even though the city's traffic violation records have been purged. Dale Crawford se...
HOUSTON -- A Houston man says he wants to clear his own conscience and pay a $1 parking ticket he got 58 years ago, even though the city's traffic violation records have been purged. Dale Crawford se...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
JumpStreet1983
You don't see a U-Haul behind a hearse!
05:01 AM on 02/19/2012
Publicity stunt by a mile. He could have just paid the ticket quietly and without fanfare. But no, the media had to get involved and make something out of nothing. While commendable, there are more pressing issues facing Americans than someone paying a 57 year-old ticket.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
RealityMyFriend
HOPE 2012
04:29 AM on 01/09/2012
Could have gotten a can of soda instead...
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
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Talab
I tot i taw a putty tat
08:25 PM on 12/29/2011
On a side note the man freaked out when he received a bill for $5472 in fines on the late ticket ... (naw ... but the way government is today it wouldn't have surprised me a bit .... i even bet a clerk suggested it before a supervisor vetoed it)
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Susan Shaffer
tell me from the beginning
12:42 AM on 12/27/2011
They just don't make criminals the way they used to.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Dan Same
08:46 PM on 12/29/2011
How is he a criminal? That's a bit OTT.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Susan Shaffer
tell me from the beginning
09:21 PM on 12/29/2011
exactly!
He was a criminal in a sense that he didn't pay his bill.
But, can you imagine any young thug of today getting a conscience in 58 years time?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
rewith85man
02:57 PM on 12/25/2011
If only we can pay the same amount for food, bills, and everything else.
02:58 PM on 12/24/2011
I wonder if he's a hoarder? Just kidding...........
07:35 AM on 12/31/2011
It's quite POSSIBLE!!!!! LOL!!!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
kingjohn1956
10:22 AM on 12/23/2011
Got a parking ticket in NYC last month ,it was 60$ but now with the ""VIG"" it's 80$ already.
05:54 AM on 12/23/2011
In California it's called 22350 V.C. And good luck trying to beat it !
12:41 PM on 12/22/2011
well then i think i'll pay my phone bill in 58 years so that the money is nothing
05:30 PM on 12/21/2011
Could you imagine who much interest he would have had to pay had they kept it on file..
07:36 AM on 12/31/2011
Yeah. Probably somewhere around fifty-eight THOUSAND DOLLARS!! Give or take a few grand or so, of course!
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stjoshy
"C is for COOKIEEEEE. thats good enough for me"
04:31 PM on 12/21/2011
u bored bro?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
frank day
Republican = FAIL
04:29 PM on 12/24/2011
That was my thought Cookie Monster. He must be lonely.
03:49 PM on 12/21/2011
Setting an example please... O.K everyone pay all your bills 58 years from now.....Really!!!!!
03:05 PM on 12/21/2011
WOW! Debts to the city? America owes this man a DEBT of GRATITUDE for his service. Good people always do the right thing.
12:50 PM on 12/21/2011
......he's only paying it so he can get his Nash out of the impound yard.....
05:31 PM on 12/21/2011
that cars worth big bucks .. I'd want it back too!
11:22 AM on 12/21/2011
This criminal should serve jail time. lol
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
rewith85man
02:59 PM on 12/25/2011
No, unfortunately he may be sent to a retirement home if he did a worse crime.