NYC seeks to recover money made off transit impostor's film
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Monday that it will use the state's Son of Sam law to try to recoup any money he makes off a feature film in development about his life.
McCollum, who's been arrested 30 times for transit-related crimes, told The Associated Press that his uncontrollable obsession with buses and trains is because of an autism-spectrum disorder and he needs help.
Transit officials said they would ask for written notice from the film's producers, The Gotham Group, of their financial agreement with McCollum.
The officials said they were seeking "any ill-gotten gains he receives from participation in this purported film project."
The feature film, tentatively titled "Train Man," is rumored to star Julia Roberts as Butler, who has been McCollum's attorney since his 2010 arrest in Queens for stealing a Trailways bus.
The state's Son of Sam law originated after rumors that publishers and movie studios were offering large amounts of money to David Berkowitz for his story, and it was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991 during a battle over the mobster tale "Wiseguy."