Watch the man getting out of this gray car. You can see, he's parked illegally. And it's not the first time, this car owes the City of Boston $2,250 in unpaid tickets.
Why? Boston parking officials insist they can't figure out who's responsible to pay it.
Tom Tinlin, Commissioner, Boston Transportation Department "It's unfortunate. We just, we don't know who to send the bill to."
As a result we found, this guy — and hundreds of other illegal parkers — are getting a free ride.
This car owes the city $3,465.
This one — we found it in front of a hydrant — owes more than $10,000. This one, more than $15,000!
For years, that money's gone uncollected. Who should be paying the bills? Our investigation found out.
First, look at these license plates. They say U.S. government. The person driving this car is wearing army camouflage and is walking toward the nearby recruiting office. So we just asked the Army!
Hank "So this is one of your people, correct, parking illegally?"
Lt. Col. Pat Mackin, U.S. Army "It would appear so."
In fact, we showed the Army its cars owe more than $8,200 in tickets! But they say Boston's never tried to collect.
Hank "So before we told you, you didn't know about this?"
Lt. Col. Pat Mackin, U.S. Army "Correct."
But it's not just the Army. It's a widespread pattern of abuse! We obtained this list showing not only federal but also state and even law enforcement employees parking in Boston crosswalks, no stopping zones, bus stops, in front of hydrants and in handicapped zones. They're never booted. They're never towed. And they never pay. Because the city has never asked the state or the feds for the money.
Hank "This is more than a million dollars in tickets!"
Tom Tinlin, Commissioner, Boston Transportation Department "This isn't a good story for anybody involved."
We found to get the Feds to pay their fines, the city would simply have to notify the General Services Administration, the agency in charge of federal cars. But they're not doing it.
Tom Tinlin, Commissioner, Boston Transportation Department "Well, I think that, where we were lax. What we need to change is the follow up."
And state cars, too are breaking the law: like this one, this one and this one.
To get the state to pay its fines, we found the city would simply have to notify this office. It's in charge of many of the vehicles. But we were the first to show them the tickets.
Hank "Is that how the system should work?"
Daniel Bowen, Massachusetts Office Vehicle Management "Absolutely not."
All agencies we contacted say the individual drivers are responsible to pay for their tickets. But now it's clear: Because the city ignores them, so does everyone else.
Hank "You have to admit there's been a culture of abuse."
Tom Tinlin, Commissioner, Boston Transportation Department Now, it's on our screen, and we need to fix it.
Boston city officials insist now there are changes already underway. As a result of our story, they're now moving to collect the money that's owed and make sure all future tickets are promptly paid. (Copyright (c) 2009 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)