Okay, assuming this is true (The NYP reported it, and tabloids are following it for sensationalism)NEW YORK (AFP) - Forget the knotted bed sheets or tunnel. A New York prisoner has come up with a much easier way to bust out of jail: ask guards for the exit.
The inmate, who was wearing a suit and tie for a court appearance on charges of multiple store robberies, simply wandered out an open door and into a courtroom Wednesday, the New York Post reported.
There, a court officer mistook jailbird Ronald Tackman for a lawyer, asking: "Counselor, what are you doing here?" the Daily News reported.
Tackman didn't miss a beat, the Post said, asking: "Which way is out?"
The hapless guard then showed the escapee the way to the lobby.
Next the daring jailbird went to his 81-year-old mother's Manhattan home to change clothes, and left, she told the Post.
"I thought he was discharged. He was all dressed up," she said.
Court officers' embarrassment only increased when it was revealed that Tackman, 55, was a known master of disguise, the tabloids said.
"The guy is a celebrity as far as the penal system," the Daily News quoted a court source as saying.
Past exploits include wearing a hat, sunglasses or a plastic nose, and using ingenious methods of making fake firearms.
In 1985, while being transported to serve out a robbery sentence, he took a guard hostage with a fake gun carved out of soap, the Post reported.
He also fooled victims with pretend guns made from a cigarette lighter and even a comb, the News said.
#1 - Why was a man with this kind of track record NOT IN HANDCUFFS?
#2 - Why was he not under proper escort?
#3 - Why the hell are officers of the court, lawyers, etc (i.e not prisoners) not required to wear identification badges or tags of some kind?
