Many people, when casting around for a profession, may come across the advice to do what you know. If you have a particular interest in something, chance are you will be more likely to achieve your goals if you enjoy what you do and you have a passion for it.

The same can be said of thieves, I suppose. Some thieves take a special interest in certain items and tend to specialise in stealing them. Car thieves, jewel thieves, electrical goods, cattle rustlers. Generally, they have paths to offload their haul and know the business inside out.

And so we come to Maurice Mizrahi from Brooklyn, New York who has a special interest in parking meters. He has been arrested seven times for stealing parking meters and is wanted for the theft of another 87 of the little machines.

On this latest occasion the 34 year olds mother came home after being away for a couple of months to find the home filled with parking meters. Firstly, surprise, surprise, the guy lives with his mother and secondly, she had no hesitation in dobbing the bower-bird in.

It seems the guy has a method of backing his car up to the meters and bumping them out of the ground whereupon he picks them up and drives off with them. The parking meters can apparently hold up to $90 in change and are worth $500 each. Mizrahi will never be without change one would think.

With the spate of scrap metal thefts going on, it’s a wonder he didn’t cash in all of that metal – it certainly would have been worth more than what the meters could actually hold.

Last report was that Mizrahi still hasn’t been apprehended, but I’m sure he’s leaving a trail of free parking wherever he goes.