Bridge tolls protest drew threats — and a surprising arrest
Bridge toll taker accused of harassing protester
Early on, the anonymous e-mails from Rus Thompson’s harshest critic went from angry to downright threatening.
The sender let Thompson know that he knew where he lived.
“Fire on Tracey Lane,” said an e-mail in February 2008.
Thompson received this one in June: “WHERE OH WHERE IS JOHN RUS THOMPSON? LITTLE JOHNNY’S SLEEPING IN THE GRAVEYARD . . . ”
The sender seemed to hate Thompson for his campaign to rid the Grand Island bridges of their Thruway tolls.
This week, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office charged David L. Zelonis, 52, of Grand Island with a misdemeanor charge of aggravated harassment.
He’s a Thruway toll collector at the Grand Island bridge.
“He said we were overpaid. And he said we shouldn’t be there,” Zelonis explained to The Buffalo News.
Thompson, a tax protester who has been arranging his next anti-tax demonstration for May 9 in Niagara Square, said he’s relieved.
“For almost two years now I have been getting these threatening e-mails,” he said Friday. “When I got the ‘Fire on Tracey Lane,’ it was my family that said this is going too far.”
Thompson had never backed down. At one point he agreed to a fight, which never occurred. Then in March, when the sender goaded Thompson again, he used an authentic e-mail address.
“I did just a little background on him and determined that it was, in fact, him,” sheriff’s Lt. Gregory J. Savage said of his ability to link Zelonis to the e-mails.
“He’s a Grand Island toll collector. He was afraid he was going to lose his job,” said Savage, who interviewed Zelonis on Thursday. “That was what it was all about.”
Zelonis said Friday that he’s still on the job but worried that he might lose it when his bosses read of his arrest. But Thruway Authority headquarters expressed little curiosity about the matter.
Spokesman Richard Bennett responded to questions by saying, “The Thruway Authority has no information on this situation.”
Even if Zelonis is convicted, Bennett said the authority cannot discriminate against an employee solely because of a conviction unless the crime directly relates to their job.
Zelonis makes $21 an hour, according to a state government payroll posted on the Web site SeeThroughNY. In letters published in The News over the years, Zelonis has defended the thankless job of a toll taker.
“You go to work every day and try to deal with verbal and sometimes physical abuse,” he wrote in November 2007, after the e-mail string to Thompson had begun. “If you are lucky enough, you may be able to get a decent apartment or find a very inexpensive house to rent or buy, because your net pay is almost half of what you gross.
“Then you retire and will be very lucky if you live 10 to 15 years without contracting lung cancer or another work-related illness,” he wrote.
Thompson, who has made a name for himself by railing against taxes and tolls, said a part of him wants the matter with Zelonis to just go away. Another part of him wants to use Zelonis as an example for those forces determined to block reform. He knows there are others out to get him.
“I can only imagine how many times I went through his toll booth,” Thompson said.
The string of e-mails, provided by Thompson, shows that his adversary at times argued only in favor of the policy of Thruway tolls: “50 percent of the tolls collected on the bridges are from out-of-state or Canadian vehicles, especially trucks. You however want to double the burden and have N. Y. state or the federal government take on the burden . . . ”
Taunts, insults and threats, however, were common.
May 29, 2007: “Saw your pic in the paper . . . Geez if I had only known you were there — oops no brakes.”
May 30, 2007: “Move off the island. Now. You are no longer welcome here.”
June 28, 2008: “Here weasel weasel weasel”
The writer found out that Thompson’s EZPass had been suspended because Thompson had allegedly sped through a toll booth — an accusation Thompson denies.
Aug. 23, 2008: “Oh, it’s time we talked again rusty. Why don’t you have an EZPass tag? SUSPENDED FOR SPEEDING? LISTEN UP IDIOT, all funds for any government operations [federal, state DOT] come out of the taxpayers pocket. Business must be slow in the home improvement business huh? Maybe if gas hits $5 nobody will call you for any work! Then you could move to Buffalo’s East Side. I’ve been living on the island for 40 years. We don’t need your ilk here. See you soon!”
The speeding accusation was repeated in an e-mail March 8, the first to arrive with Zelonis’ name attached.
“Your EZPass tag was revoked for speeding through the lanes. Maybe the public should be made aware just how irresponsible you are . . . ”
Zelonis was told to appear in Grand Island Town Court on May 6. He said Friday that after talking to his lawyer, he believes the court will grant him a conditional discharge, dismissing the matter if he stays out of trouble for six months.
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