Two years ago, a prisoner managed to stroll out of the Criminal Court Building in Manhattan because he was wearing a business suit and convinced a guard that he was a lawyer. After a day on the lam, police caught Ronald Tackman—wearing jeans and a t-shirt—in Washington Heights with a fake passport, wigs, phony beards, and four gun-shaped cigarette lighters. Now, a judge has sentenced him to a maximum of life in prison, even though Tackman argued he needed the NY Attorney General to certify the constitutionality of the laws sending him to the pokey, "If I bought a painting from Sotheby’s, it would be certified authentic by three experts. If you buy a Ford, it’s certified. If you buy a diamond ring, it’s certified. The laws of America must be certified. They are much more valuable than a painting. How come I can’t see proof of this?" more ›

When career criminal and escape artist Ronald Tackman was able to walk out of a Manhattan courthouse Wednesday simply because he was wearing a nice suit, there must have been some part of him that wondered, "That's it?" For when Tackman was eventually picked up Washington Heights, police discovered on him an arsenal that rivaled a Carrot Top starter kit: a fake passport, wigs, phony beards, and four gun-shaped cigarette lighters. Does he do accents as well? more ›

Ronald Tackman, the man who escaped from custody at Criminal Court thanks to his nice suit, was captured last night at 175th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Washington Heights. A tipster told cops that he was taking a city bus and they were there to arrest him. more ›

Ronald Tackman, the prisoner who escaped from a Criminal Court holding cell yesterday and managed to blend in with the court crowds, thanks to his business suit, is still at large. He did manage to head to his mother's Upper East Side home; she told NY1, "He came home and he was all dressed up and I figured that he was discharged from prison. So I didn't say anything and he asked me to change his clothes and that was it." His new attire: Jeans and a black jacket. more ›

On the police scanners (now on Gothamist Newsmap), there have been multiple reports of an "escaped prisoner" from 100 Centre Street in lower Manhattan, which is the Criminal Court Building. Now it turns out that the prisoner escaped because he was dressed so well that he looked like a lawyer! more ›