Arrested - will my BB offer be rescinded?
I recently got a summer IBD offer from one of the BBs and accepted it, but just this past weekend, I made a stupid decision and got myself arrested for "doubling up" at a NYC subway turnstile (me and a friend both swiped in with just 1 swipe on his Metrocard - basically the same as jumping a turnstile). Since this is a first time offense, according to the police, what will happen is when we go to court, the judge will give us each a 6-month "adjournment considering dismissal," which basically means that if we don't get arrested for the next 6 months, the charges will be dropped. Unfortunately for me, my BB's background check hasn't happened yet (but will happen between now and the summer), and the arrest/charge will almost definitely show up when they run the check, as long as the charge hasn't been dropped. Does anyone have any experience with this/know if this is grounds for my offer being rescinded if it shows up? Should I hire a lawyer to try to get the charge dropped ASAP? Really worried since the offense is classified as a Class A Misdemeanor ("theft of services") and that banks will take it very seriously since it is technically theft.
How do you get caught jumping a turnstile? And why in the world would you do it if there was a cop in the area?
Actually, the MTA does not f**k around. They can catch you because there are security guards and cameras. Way back in the day a few friends did this (I can't remember why - I think cause the machines weren't working, and they didn't have their cards, I had my card, so I didn't) and almost right after we pushed through the turnstile (like two people at a time), some security guard came out of nowhere and confronted us. I can't remember what was said, but essentially got away with a stern warning. But I guess in the OP's case, the guard was not as nice.
(as for why it's done - probably an element of time? stupid, but if you're say late for an upcoming train and didn't have the pass or whatever, you think that you can chance it. But the moral of the story is - don't. Just pay the $2.50 [or whatever it is now] and wait for the next train).
As for the OP - sorry, never had to deal with this myself, and not American, so don't know how it works. But my first question would be - maybe speak with a lawyer first on whether he/she knows for sure if something like this will come up in a background check? And if so, whether the nature of the misdemeanor will be described. Like... does it only show up as a one-liner as 'theft' or whether it describes what happened with the turnstile. I feel like, at least from a front office perspective, people won't really care about something so minor if they know the nature of the act (it's just more of a 'stupid kids do stupid but harmless shit' kinda deal). But not sure if HR will feel as lightly about it.
Whats done is done- no use crying over spilled milk. My first instinct was that this was not such a big deal, and it can be reasonably explained to your employer, but then you say that you got arrested and went to court and shit, which is a little more troubling. Also this is a Class A misdemeanor? Damn I had no idea.
I don't think the BB will renege your offer as long as you don't have any other history of past misdemeanors. But if you can get the charges dropped, that'd be even safer. How much will that cost you?
Dude keep your nose clean until the background check is over. Didn't think this needed to be said, but in your case looks like it might
Arrested? Go to the judge and try to argue it down. I know half a dozen people who've done something like this and it's usually something akin to a parking ticket.
Theft of services? This is plain and simple fare evasion, a civil issue not a criminal one, even according to the MTA: http://new.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-new-york-city-transit…
Unless of course you've been caught 5 times before or have a criminal record. "Police arrest a fare cheat, rather than issue a ticket, if the alleged offender has been caught doing it at least five prior times - or has a criminal record". Otherwise, some real bad luck here.
If it were me, I'd talk to a lawyer. It's so minor that I can't imagine anyone would care, but is it really even worth the slightest risk?
A few thousand now is incredibly minor compared to what you'll be making over the duration of your career.
No professional in any field will give a single fuck if you jumped a turnstile.
I think its a matter of getting a good lawyer who can reduce the charge or limit the charge... Professional in the field will not care, but HR/Applications/Online Apps will care if you have to list you have a Class A due to Theft.
A little bit of $ might help you a lot in the short & long run, with regards to hiring a lawyer.
If you can't have the charges dropped, preempt the background check. Explain to HR what happened, and this will almost definitely be a non-issue. Banks care about financial or violent crimes and acts of moral turpitude (e.g., academic dishonesty). They're not interested in punishing kids for foolishly jumping a turnstile.
I hope you've learned a valuable lesson, though. Dumb as the system may appear to be at times, don't cheat it.
Haha love this.
OP, how did you get arrested? Friend got caught last weekend as well, they wrote him a $100 fine and that was it.
Pretty much just bad luck all around. It was one of those stations where the turnstiles are directly facing the train cars, and right after we jumped over, the door on the car facing us opened up and two cops were standing inside, and they had seen us jump. Also both of us only had our university-issued IDs with us, no state IDs, which from my understanding is what fucked us over - apparently if we had had our state IDs, we would have just been written tickets, but since they had no way to ID us, they had to arrest us, take us to the station, and fingerprint us...
Already hired a lawyer earlier today - shelled out $1500. Lawyer's advice is to NOT tell HR and try to delay the background check (which might be possible since I have to sign off on it) while he tries to advance the court date/shorten the 6-month "adjournment considering dismissal".
But otherwise, definitely learned my lesson - will absolutely be staying on the right side of the law from now on haha
this is just so morbidly obese.
I'm going to take a stab here and say that OP was belligerent with the cop. I have seen people jumping plenty of times (especially those rare occasions I journeyed to Queens or Brooklyn) and no mysterious MTA security guards appeared out of nowhere.
As for what's actually to do, if I was you I would hire whatever lawyer required to remove the charge if possible...HR anywhere will certainly care because they don't know anything.
I'm gonna second what Going Concern said here - OP, if you got hit with a Misdemeanor charge, you had to get hit with something else. There's no way around it. If you still have the violation, look at what you got cited for all together. It may not just be that you got hit for a misdemeanor, but for multiple smaller charges that when grouped together would be viewed as a misdemeanor.
That said: 1) Lawyer up. I'm pretty certain you already did. If you got hit with a Misdemeanor charge on top of the jumping the turnstile, then you may have a harder time pleading it down. 2) Be up front with HR and let them know that this happened. Better to jump in front of it than have it bite you in the ass. 3) Be glad it's just a misdemeanor. A few years ago, a Morgan Stanley money manager who had 1Bln AUM hit a guy and walked off with a year probation and 45 days of community service (and I happened to meet him in a bar in Hoboken a few years later by complete accident, seriously fucking strange world) for a hit and run that nearly killed a guy. A serious criminal charge can fuck you over. It sounds like you ended up with some form of ARD (Advanced Rehabilitative Disposition) which is a very good thing. If you already have a lawyer, when you let your HR department know, make sure to tell them that they can reach out to your attorney for any sort of proof they need. Your lawyer should be willing to provide a letter stating all of the obvious facts relevant to the legal proceedings if asked just to verify the story (docket nr, etc.).
All said, this is just a small hiccup man. Don't worry much about it.
It probably won't show up on your background check but DO NOT say anything to the company / HR. Also, send a letter to the judge stating your situation and that you'll be more than happy to pay the fine and do any other sort of requirements he deems necessary, as long as this doesn't get put on your record.
I got caught doing the same thing years ago (at the Times Square station, stupid me). All I got was a $100 fine, which I split with the friend I was scheming with. Has also happened with a ton of my other friends and no one has ever gotten arrested. That's bizarre.
I will say that my offer(s) never got yanked nor has anyone brought it up in a background check...
Hah, similar thing happened to me. In NY State it's called ACD (adjournment in contemplation of dismissal) and then case is dismissed in six months (i.e. you are not charged).
If you feel antsy you can disclose it to HR. I didn't.
You can get a lawyer if it'll make you feel better, but a public defender will suffice in this case.
I too like to live dangerously, OP.
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