Darius McCollum, the notorious bus and train thief, is now playing lawyer.
McCollum has filed a $15 million lawsuit against the city alleging he is not receiving the mental health treatment he needs in jail while awaiting trial for stealing an empty Greyhound bus.
McCollum is one of New York City’s most notorious criminals, having been arrested nearly 40 times for taking transit vehicles on joyrides and even dressing up like an MTA employee.
He is the subject of an acclaimed documentary, “Off The Rails,” and a Hollywood film is planned with Julia Roberts playing the role of his defense lawyer, Sally Butler.
Serial bus thief rejects plea deal, wants mental health care
Stealing a Greyhound bus is the latest charge for McCollum, who has been busted nearly 40 times for taking transit vehicles on joyrides.
(Sam Costanza/for New York Daily News)
Starring as the plaintiff in his own lawsuit, McCollum, 51, says he suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome in which “the sufferer of this severe mental illness has an extreme obsession with a particular object, in the plaintiff’s case, his moby dick are trains and buses,” apparently comparing himself to the literary character Capt. Ahab who was obsessed with harpooning a whale.
The suit filed Sept. 15 in Brooklyn Federal Court under the Americans with Disabilities Act, contends McCollum “needs help obviously” and is being punished for a crime related to his mental disability.
A spokesman for the city Law Department said the complaint will be reviewed.
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Article source: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/transit-thief-sues-nyc-15m-mental-health-treatment-article-1.2807369