SPECIAL VICTIM'S UNIT.
SMITH HAS BEEN THE PASTOR OF
SECOND HIGHWAY BAPTICT CHURCH
FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS.
HE IS BEING HELD ON $180,000
BOND.
SCOTT: NEW COMPLAINTS TONIGHT BY
PEOPLE WHO SAY THEY'VE RECEIVED
IMPROPER PARKING TICKETS FROM
THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS.
CAMILLE: IT COMES ONE WEEK AFTER
WE FIRST REPORTED HOW ONE TAXI
CAB DRIVER.
USED THE CITY'S REQUIRED GPS
SYSTEM TO PROVE HIS VEHICLE WAS
NO WHERE NEAR PARKING OFFICERS
ISSUED THE TICKET.
NOW -- OTHER PEOPLE SAY THEY'RE
IN THE SAME POSITION, AND ARE
CALLING FOR A FULL CITY PROBE
INTO THE MATTER.
SCOTT: INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
TRAVERS MACKEL IS LIVE AT 6:00,
WITH WHAT THE CITY SAYS ABOUT
THESE NEW ALLEGATIONS.
TRAVERS: THE CITY SAYS NOTHING
IMPROPER IS GOING ON, AND ALL
TICKET ISSUED ARE DONE SO
PROPERLY.
BUT AFTER WE FIRST TOLD YOU
ABOUT THE SUSPICIOUS SITUATION
SURROUNDING A LOCAL TAXI CAB
DRIVER, WE WERE FLOODED WITH
EMAILS -- AND SOME SAY THE
PROBLEMS WE'RE ABOUT TO SHOW YOU
ARE NOT COINCIDENTAL -- THEY'RE
A PATTERN.
IT'S SAFE TO SAY IF YOU END UP
WITH ONE OF THESE ON YOUR
WINDSHIELD IN NEW ORLEANS, IT'S
NOT A GOOD DAY.
AND YEARS AFTER RECEIVING
PARKING TICKETS, WE FOUND THREE
PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW QUESTIONING
THE SYSTEM, ALL SINGING THE SAME
TUNE.
WESTIN ALLEN LIVES IN
MANDEVILLE.
WESTIN: IT SEEMS PRETTY STRANGE
TO ME.
TRAVERS: JULIE TRAN RESIDES IN
MARRERO.
JULIE: SOMEONE IS NOT DOING
THEIR JOB.
TRAVERS: AND KATHLEEN MOORING IS
FROM HOUMA.
KATHLEEN: VERY UPSET.
-- VERY SUSPECT.
TRAVERS: THE THREE DO NOT KNOW
EACH OTHER AT ALL.
BUT THEY HAVE THE SAME STORY.
ALL RECEIVED TICKETS IN THE
MAIL, NOT ON THEIR VEHICLES, AND
THEY GOT THE NOTICES THIS YEAR
IN 2015 -- MORE THAN 2 YEARS
AFTER THE TICKETS WERE ALLEGEDLY
ISSUED.
AND ALL THREE TELL US THEY WERE
NOT IN THE IN THE CITY OF NEW
ORLEANS AT THE TIME THE
CITATIONS SAY THEY WERE
ILLEGALLY PARKED, AND THEY CAN
PROVE IT.
ALLEN SAYS THE CAR THE CITY
CLAIMS WAS ILLEGALLY PARKED WAS
IN HIS DRIVE-WAY.
ALLEN: THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER
WAS FOR MY DAUGHTER'S CAR -- SHE
GOES TO LSU, AND I THOUGHT IT
WAS STRANGE, BECAUSE SHE WAS
LIVING IN THE DORM AT LSU AND
THE CAR SHE WAS DRIVING WAS IN
MY DRIVEWAY, AND HADN'T MOVED
FOR MONTHS.
TRAVERS: WHEN ALLEN CHALLENGED
THE CITY ON THE TICKET, THEY
SENT HIS THE MAKE AND MODEL OF
THE CAR THEY SAY IS HIS.
ALLEN: THE COPY OF THE CITATION
HAD MY DAUGHTER'S LICENSE PLATE
NUMBER ON IT, AND IT SHOWED IT
WAS FOR A GREY OLDSMOBILE.
MY DAUGHTER'S CAR IS A RED
MAZDA, A TOTALLY DIFFERENT CAR
-- PRETTY HARD TO MAKE THAT
MISTAKE.
IT SEEMS PRETTY STRANGE TO
ME.
TRAVERS: JULIE TRAN WAS ALSO
LEFT CONFUSED.
JULIE: I NEVER WENT DOWN THERE,
I WAS AT WORK.
TRAVERS: TRAN GOT A CITATION IN
THE MAIL SAYING THAT TWO YEARS
AGO, SHE RECEIVED A TICKET ON
TCHOUPITOULAS.
SHE WORKS IN THE MEDICAL FIELD
NEAR WEST JEFFERSON MEDICAL
CENTER AND HAS TO CLOCK IN AND
, OUT.
AFTER SHE GOT THE NOTICE, SHE
HAD MANAGEMENT PULL HER TIME
CARDS.
JULIE: I WAS AT WORK.
NO WAY I CAN BE AT TWO PLACES AT
ONCE.
THE TICKET SAYS I WAS THERE AT
11:53 -- I WAS AT WORK, I DID
NOT CLOCK OUT UNTIL 12:05.
THERE IS NO WAY I CAN BE HERE
AND THERE AT THE SAME TIME.
TRAVERS: MOORING SAYS HER
SITUATION IS EVEN WORSE.
I LIVE IN HOUMA, I HAVE NEVER
COME TO NEW ORLEANS.
TRAVERS: BUT HER HUSBAND'S TRUCK
WAS TICKETED IN THE 400 BLOCK OF
S. ROBERTSON DOWNTOWN.
LIKE THE OTHER TWO, THEY
RECEIVED NO PAPER CITATION, ONLY
A NITICEMAILED TO THEM TWO YEARS
-- A NOTICE, MAILED
TO HER TWO
YEARS AFTER THE TICKET WAS
ALLEGEDLY ISSUED.
SHE SAYS HER HUSBAND WORKS AT A
TERREBONNE PARISH PLANT, AND HIS
TIMECARD SHOWS HE WAS AT WORK ON
THE MONDAY MORNING THE CITY SAYS
HE WAS IMPROPERLY STOPPED.
MOORING: WHY WOULD HE BE IN NEW
ORLEANS ON A MONDAY MORNING AT
10:00 IN THE MORNING?
TRAVERS: THE THREE REACHED OUT
TO US IMMEDIATELY AFTER WE TOLD
YOU THE STORY OF TAXI CAB DRIVER
GLENN TROTTER.
A FORMER HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
COACH, TROTTER USED THE GPS ON
HIS CAB -- THE TECHNOLOGY THE
CITY MADE ALL DRIVERS AND
COMPANY'S INSTALL THREE YEARS
AGO -- TO PROVE HIS VEHICLE WAS
PARKED IN HIS DRIVEWAY, WHEN
PARKING CONTROL OFFICERS SAY HE
WAS ILLEGALLY STOPPED ON BOURBON
STREET.
THE PICTURE THE CITY GAVE US TO
SUPPORT IT'S CASE AGAINST
TROTTER ISN'T OF HIS UNITED CAB
-- IT'S ANOTHER VEHICLE.
GLENN: IT'S HARD EVIDENCE THAT
THE VEHICLE WAS NO WHERE NEAR
THE 300 BLOCK OF BOURBON AT THE
TIME OF THE VIOLATION.
TRAVERS: OUR STORY PROMPTED ONE
CAB COMPANY TO GO THROUGH ITS
BOOK AND LOOK FOR MORE EXAMPLES.
WE HAVE FOUND A HANDFUL OF
SIMILAR CASES.
WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN OUR OWN
INTERNAL INVESTIGATION.
TRAVERS: BUT THE CITY SAYS IT
DOESN'T TARGET ANYONE OR STORE
LICENSE PLATE NUMBERS.
JERNIGAN: THE WAY THE SYSTEM IS
SET UP -- THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE TO
STORE TICKETS AND GO BACK AND DO
SOMETHING.
TRAVERS: THE CITY SAYS IT STILL
STANDS BY MARK JERNIGAN'S
COMMENTS AND THAT NO DRIVERS ARE
, TARGETED BY PARKING CONTROL
OFFICERS.
BUT THAT ANSWER ISN'T GOOD
ENOUGH, AS THESE PEOPLE DON'T
THINK ITS COINCIDENTAL.
-- IT IS COINCIDENTAL.
MOORING: I THINK SOMEBODY NEEDS
TO LOOK INTO IT, BECAUSE IF IT
HAPPENS TO SOMEONE WHO LIVES OUT
OF TOWN, HOW ARE THEY GOING TO
FIGHT IT?
JULIE: IT SHOULD BE
INVESTIGATED, BECAUSE IT'S NOT
RIGHT.
WESTIN: THERE IS SOMETHING
STRANGE GOING ON.
TRAVERS: ALSO WORTH NOTHING:
NOTING
-- AFTER TWO
YEARS PEOPLE HAVE TO REQUEST
, SPECIAL PERMISSION TO APPEAL A
TICKET.
WE ASKED THE CITY HOW MANY
TICKETS HAVE BEEN SENT OUT THIS
YEAR THAT ARE MORE THAN TWO
YEARS OLD: AND GET THIS NUMBER
-- MORE THAN 99,000 NOTIFICATION
HAVE BEEN SENT OUT IN 2015 ALONE
FOR TICKETS MORE THAN TWO YEARS
OLD.
THE CITY SAYS IT WILL NOT
ADDRESS SPECIFIC CASES MENTIONED
IN THIS STORY, BUT ADDS IT WANTS
, TO COLLECT UNPAID FINES, BUT
SOME ARE CLEARLY FIGHTING IT.