New York Street Artist COST Has Been Charged With Vandalism and Criminal Mischief

The artist was arrested late last year after he was allegedly spotted carrying a brush covered in paste.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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In October of last year, legendary and prolific street artist COST was arrested in New York after NYPD police officers allegedly spotted him walking back to his car in the Meatpacking District with an extended pole and wet brush. The police say that they found the lid to a bucket of paste next to the artist's Porsche Cayenne, and when they got a search warrant they found more street art supplies inside, including hundreds of COST stickers and posters. 

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According to Artnet, COST (a.k.a Adam Cole) appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court yesterday where he was charged with "vandalism, criminal mischief, making graffiti, and possession of a graffiti instrument." The judge estimated that over the course of his career as a street artist, COST has caused millions of dollars in property damage. The New York Post reports that the artist attempted to hide his face from cameras in the courthouse but was unsuccessful. 

COST had one of the biggest street art arrests of all time back in 1995 and was hit with five years probation, community service, and $2,126 in restitution. The artist disappeared for close to 16 years after that, returning to the streets in 2014 to paste his name all over the city. In an interview published in the Metro, COST spoke about the current state of street art and graffiti and said that he doesn't really relate much to what the culture has become. "A lot of street art has the same look to it. People do things very similar...The more they advance with their street art techniques, I pull back and get more retro. My work is very gutter black and white."

[via Artnet]

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