BORF pleads guilty in DC (Graf related)

Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts
edited December 2005 in Strut Central
With Guilty Plea, Borf to Try the Art of Graffiti Cleanup[/b]By Henri E. CauvinWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, December 13, 2005; A01Borf, the notorious graffiti vandal who has left his mark all over the District, might want to try a new tag:GUILTY!Looking little like the rebel he fashions himself as, John Tsombikos, aka Borf, stood in D.C. Superior Court yesterday in a blue blazer and khakis and admitted to defacing a Howard University building over the summer with his ubiquitous moniker.The preppy attire of the former art student was quite a turnabout for the 18-year-old from Great Falls, who showed up in court three weeks ago in paint-stained clothes that led authorities to suspect he was back in the spray-painting business.Not only did he 'fess up in court, but Tsombikos also agreed to give up the vandalism that made him a hero to other "taggers," a villain to property owners and a constant source of frustration for the city's graffiti cleanup crews. And, as part of a penalty that could include a prison term, he agreed to help clean up the mess he created.From a sign above the Roosevelt Bridge to the building above a Connecticut Avenue Cosi, Borf struck with greater frequency and more splash than anyone since the prolific Cool Disco Dan in the 1980s, authorities said."He was very good at what he did," said Dennis Butler, the D.C. public works official in charge of abating such nuisances, "but it was unwanted art."And there was lots of it."In the last few years, there's been no one like Borf," Butler said.In all, the teenager vandalized perhaps 100 locations, Butler said, and his handiwork -- or that of the copycats he inspired -- still dots the city. Some graffiti is quite detailed. Other work, such as the name "Borf" in white spray paint on a dumpster in front of rowhouses in the 1500 block of R Street NW, shows less flair. No matter how it looks, the work has cost tens of thousands of dollars to clean up.If District officials have their way, there won't be anyone like Borf for a while.With his attorney at his side, Tsombikos pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of felony destruction of property, a charge that carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a fine of as much as $5,000. As is customary at plea hearings, Tsombikos answered routine questions but otherwise did not address the behavior that landed him in court. He will be given an opportunity to do so at his sentencing Feb. 9.Whether he ends up behind bars will be up to the judge, Lynn Leibovitz. The court's voluntary guidelines recommend a sentence of 6 to 24 months.But the plea deal includes the cleanup and other penalties.Under terms of the agreement with prosecutors, Tsombikos will have to pay $12,000 in restitution. He'll have to surrender just about anything he used to make graffiti, including stencils, spray paint and his computer.And he'll have to do something that might be harder for him than jail time: remove graffiti. For 80 of the 200 hours of community service that he owes, Tsombikos must help rid the District of the sort of eyesores left by graffiti artists like him."All the ones of Borf I have left, I will give to him," Butler said. "Let him see the headaches we went through to keep the city clean with his miscellaneous antics."It won't be the only obligation bringing him to the District.Tsombikos is scheduled to start classes next month at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, attorney Michael Madden told the judge.So when the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alessio Evangelista, asked the judge to order Tsombikos to stay out of the District until the sentencing, Madden was concerned."This is an open city," Madden said, noting the District's status as the nation's capital. And on a practical level, Tsombikos lives in its suburbs and has friends in the District, Madden said.But Leibovitz was unimpressed, pointing out that the teenager had just pleaded guilty to a felony.Between now and his sentencing, she said, Tsombikos is allowed to come to the District for classes and court but for nothing else.And she kept in place an order banning him from carrying art supplies of any sort -- an order that Madden said would be an undue hardship given Tsombikos's studies.Once again, the judge didn't give any ground."Go to school," she told Tsombikos, "but you can't carry supplies to and from."In interviews this year with The Washington Post, Tsombikos declined to say what led him to take on the Borf name but talked freely about his political metamorphosis into an anarchist.Even some of the people who have devoted countless hours to eradicating his work from the streets acknowledge that Tsombikos has talent. They wonder what he will make of it."It's a sad commentary on our society that he will probably take his fame as a vandal and transform it into fame as an artist," said Phil Carney of Dupont Circle, who has scoured graffiti from his neighborhood for years and who came to court to learn the case's outcome."But there's no question he has talent and determination. Properly challenged, he could accomplish just about anything. Just let's hope it's less destructive."After signing a routine promise to return to court and conferring with his attorney, Tsombikos emerged from the courtroom but did not answer questions.Staff writer Yolanda Woodlee contributed to this report.?? 2005 The Washington Post Company
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  • meshmesh 925 Posts
    yeah, guy down here, Refuse to be Smart, got busted last year. had to do 6 months in jail. probably a lot of community service as well. local art student, etc.

    a lot of these guys are really good artists. he actually got a lot of cred for going to jail and is hopefully going to be able to use that to get his art career going.

    sucks to be BORF though.

  • Borf works are exciting. I remember when the face first appeared on that main sign across Roosevelt Bridge and wondering how the hell they pulled that off............ahhhh...those were the days.



  • Favorite borf tag I saw was on the box of a washington examiner newspaper box. He wrote somethin like "Examin' er? I barely met 'er."

    I'm looking at the Post right now. I wish they would show a picture of this kid. I know I can't be the only one wondering what he looks like.

  • Here are a few I found online:








  • knewjakknewjak 1,231 Posts

    Sorry, but he seems like another Bansky ripoff to me. Every town has one I guess.
    Pink/Black/White color schemes? Yeah, that took some thought.



  • From a sign above the Roosevelt Bridge to the building above a Connecticut Avenue Cosi, Borf struck with greater frequency and more splash than anyone since the prolific Cool Disco Dan in the 1980s, authorities said.


    Dude wasn't even close to Cool Disco Dan status. Don't believe the hype.

  • Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts


    Favorite borf tag I saw was on the box of a washington examiner newspaper box. He wrote somethin like "Examin' er? I barely met 'er."

    I'm looking at the Post right now. I wish they would show a picture of this kid. I know I can't be the only one wondering what he looks like.

    Oh, he was on the news last night, plain as day...and he was walking all over the place trying to avoid the photogs! I think that the face above is essentially a self-portrait, becuz that is pretty much what he looks like. Dark hair, young skinny white guy, probably pretty similar to a lot of guys on this board.

  • the thing i never understood about borf was that it always seemed like he wanted more of a personal attention for his work rather than let the work speak for him. i don't know what exactly led up to his charges but i imagine it was partly him being stupid

  • he got nabbed while writing with another friend. some guy on the street spotted them and called the cops and pow.

    sux he got nabbed though. they're making an example out of him like a mug.

    long live borf.



  • he got nabbed while writing with another friend. some guy on the street spotted them and called the cops and pow.

    sux he got nabbed though. they're making an example out of him like a mug.

    long live borf.


    i'm saying though - don't lots of writers get nabbed this way but never get a case against them, only the single offense? was he like "yeah im borf see here i'm writing borf and i also did the other few hundred tags down the street"

  • i hear what you're saying man, but i don't think that my man was trying to get caught if thats what you're implying. too high of a price to pay just to raise your profile for future art credibility.





    here's a link to the article from back when he first got caught.



    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/13/AR2005071302448.html?referrer=emailarticle


















  • Jesus, I hope they don't jail him, it seems to me that society treats crimes against property more harshley than crimes against the person

  • that article's pretty hilarious, especially

    he drew inspiration from the children's author Shel Silverstein and from something called situationism, an obscure avant-garde movement popularized in 1960s France.[/b]

    obscure?

    anyway, borf just seems like a naive kid going to art school on his parent's money and can be anti-materialistic and anti-capitalism because he doesn't have to pay the bills. sending him to jail is a bit harsh...

    art-wise, it's cute but too much banksy, not enough originality.

  • DubiousDubious 1,865 Posts
    considering most art students couldn't tell you the differance between cubism and impressionism i would call the situationalists obscure


  • allow me to get on my soapbox for sec....



    here's the thing though, regarding some of the negative comments about borf being the cute suburban upper/middle-class kid that just wanted to get up and graf/bomb the streets. The fact that my man gave all that up just to write is something to be said all on it's own. Think about what kind of shit he's going through now. Because when it comes down to it, probably more than half of the heads on here come from that kind of background and while we're comfortable in our own surroundings (cop-free)it's easy to hate on him for being the rich/art student that has his parents support. I mean take borfs work, innovation and talent with a grain of salt, but I think he deserves some credit for what he's going through with the feds. Dude is in some serious heat.



    long live borf.








  • From a sign above the Roosevelt Bridge to the building above a Connecticut Avenue Cosi, Borf struck with greater frequency and more splash than anyone since the prolific Cool Disco Dan in the 1980s, authorities said.


    Dude wasn't even close to Cool Disco Dan status. Don't believe the hype.

    yeah, completely different category for sure.

  • Birdman9Birdman9 5,417 Posts
    allow me to get on my soapbox for sec....

    here's the thing though, regarding some of the negative comments about borf being the cute suburban upper/middle-class kid that just wanted to get up and graf/bomb the streets. The fact that my man gave all that up just to write is something to be said all it's own. Think about what kind of shit he's going through now. Because when it comes down to it, probably more than half of the heads on here come from that kind of background and while we're comfortable in our own surroundings (cop-free)it's easy to hate on him for being the rich/art student that has his parents support. I mean take borfs work, innovation and talent with a grain of salt, but I think he deserves some credit for what he's going through with the feds. Dude is in some serious heat.

    long live borf.



    I give the guy a lot of credit for taking resposibilty for his actions, and I truly hope that he is not incarcerated.

    As someone who is NOT a graf writer, may I ask what are graf writer's positions on getting caught, taking heat, paying the piper? Is it jut a risk factor y'all live with, something that makes it worthwhile? Or is it something that is seen as failure(getting nabbed)? Do you allow yoursef to look at it from the property-owner's eyes? Do graf writers own property themselves? Is there a code regarding what is open to paint on?

    I am serious, not trying to ruffle feathers...just wondering people's thoughts from folks who have run this path.

  • gloomgloom 2,765 Posts

    Borf, the notorious graffiti vandal who has left his mark all over the District, might want to try a new tag:

    GUILTY!

    ZING!



    anyways...i have mad respect for BORF, and it was only in time that he was going to get popped (happens to most (if not all) of the biggins). dude wasnt just up in DC, he was everywhere on the east coast/mid west. ive seen his shit in indiana and ohio, just to name a few.

    i have mad respect for the dude, and hes talented as fuck. hopefully he gets through this shit and keeps chugging. im sure he will be having many-a art show and books as soon as this blows over.

  • gloomgloom 2,765 Posts
    allow me to get on my soapbox for sec....



    here's the thing though, regarding some of the negative comments about borf being the cute suburban upper/middle-class kid that just wanted to get up and graf/bomb the streets. The fact that my man gave all that up just to write is something to be said all it's own. Think about what kind of shit he's going through now. Because when it comes down to it, probably more than half of the heads on here come from that kind of background and while we're comfortable in our own surroundings (cop-free)it's easy to hate on him for being the rich/art student that has his parents support. I mean take borfs work, innovation and talent with a grain of salt, but I think he deserves some credit for what he's going through with the feds. Dude is in some serious heat.



    long live borf.








    this is well said gusto. several years ago, i was heavy into the scene in my home town, and was, imo, "kinging" the city at that point (which means i was all over every major highway and coming up alot in the downtown area, news had put out a story on graffiti in our town with our shit as the main point of discussion). me and a partner finally got popped at the height of our run during a summer stint, and the shit just blew up. there was a detective in the mist that had a "thing" about graffiti, and he did everything in his power to rip us a new asshole. he had supposedly been looking for us for over a year. unfortunately i had just turned 18, and so he put me on BLAST. newspaper, television news; the whole nine, mug shot included. as i was a suburban white kid, with a nice house and a "proper" upbringing, the media ate it up.



    luckilly i got away with just a night in jail, heavy community service and a LARGE receipt from the local government and Viacom.



    im not trying to give myself props or anything, it just goes to show how they handle this shit nowadays.

  • gloomgloom 2,765 Posts
    he got nabbed while writing with another friend. some guy on the street spotted them and called the cops and pow.



    sux he got nabbed though. they're making an example out of him like a mug.



    long live borf.





    i'm saying though - don't lots of writers get nabbed this way but never get a case against them, only the single offense? was he like "yeah im borf see here i'm writing borf and i also did the other few hundred tags down the street"



    as for this, when i got popped this was what we were trying to wing in the court. but the fuckers brought in handwriting experts, etc. its getting harder to bat with the hype graffiti gets nowadays.



    and i wasnt even close to the level BORF was on, im sure they will air him out, and as said before "make an example out of him"

  • gloomgloom 2,765 Posts


    anyway, borf just seems like a naive kid going to art school on his parent's money and can be anti-materialistic and anti-capitalism because he doesn't have to pay the bills. sending him to jail is a bit harsh...



    art-wise, it's cute but too much banksy, not enough originality.



    im not even going to touch all those preconceived notions you just made about the dude.


  • Borf, the notorious graffiti vandal who has left his mark all over the District, might want to try a new tag:

    GUILTY!

    ZING!




  • I give the guy a lot of credit for taking resposibilty for his actions, and I truly hope that he is not incarcerated.

    As someone who is NOT a graf writer, may I ask what are graf writer's positions on getting caught, taking heat, paying the piper? Is it jut a risk factor y'all live with, something that makes it worthwhile? Or is it something that is seen as failure(getting nabbed)? Do you allow yoursef to look at it from the property-owner's eyes? Do graf writers own property themselves? Is there a code regarding what is open to paint on?

    I am serious, not trying to ruffle feathers...just wondering people's thoughts from folks who have run this path.

    I don't know if there is a code, but there should be. Someone tagged up the side of my apt building with the worst shit i have ever seen in my life. No style at all and the only person that can see it is my neighbor. It says "fuck you bitch die carla" and then some random letters in lime green. Well there is no carla in my building or next door so I don't think the intended viewer will ever see it. Can borf come to my house and paint something a little nicer over it. I don't really mind graf unless it fucks up nice architecture or its really fucking bad.

  • gloomgloom 2,765 Posts


    I give the guy a lot of credit for taking resposibilty for his actions, and I truly hope that he is not incarcerated.

    As someone who is NOT a graf writer, may I ask what are graf writer's positions on getting caught, taking heat, paying the piper? Is it jut a risk factor y'all live with, something that makes it worthwhile? Or is it something that is seen as failure(getting nabbed)? Do you allow yoursef to look at it from the property-owner's eyes? Do graf writers own property themselves? Is there a code regarding what is open to paint on?

    I am serious, not trying to ruffle feathers...just wondering people's thoughts from folks who have run this path.

    I don't know if there is a code, but there should be. Someone tagged up the side of my apt building with the worst shit i have ever seen in my life. No style at all and the only person that can see it is my neighbor. It says "fuck you bitch die carla" and then some random letters in lime green. Well there is no carla in my building or next door so I don't think the intended viewer will ever see it. Can borf come to my house and paint something a little nicer over it. I don't really mind graf unless it fucks up nice architecture or its really fucking bad.

    there is a "code" but people like this dont know about it.

  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    What's he code

    no personal properties (houses)
    dont write over some dude unless it'll be better

    what else?

  • gloomgloom 2,765 Posts
    What's he code

    no personal properties (houses)
    dont write over some dude unless it'll be better

    what else?


  • noznoz 3,625 Posts
    what people outside dc don't realize is that the "best" of borf (the stencils) is what ends up on the internet. most of his shit is pretty toy and it's usually either a weak pun or pushing some self important empty philosophical bullshit, like http://mowabb.com/aimages/images/alienation-kills.jpg

    while i respect the ingeunity of something like the constitution ave. sign piece, for the most part both his style and "philosophy" are featherweight.

    i've also been told that Tsombikos may not be the only person responsible for the borf tags, that a bunch of corcran students were involved, which could explain the frequency and relative inconsistancy in style.


  • anyway, borf just seems like a naive kid going to art school on his parent's money and can be anti-materialistic and anti-capitalism because he doesn't have to pay the bills. sending him to jail is a bit harsh...

    art-wise, it's cute but too much banksy, not enough originality.

    im not even going to touch all those preconceived notions you just made about the dude.

    then please shed some light on dude (no sarcasm).

  • I'm not really very familiar with whats going on in other cities since I have been busted a few times (the last one with a $5,600 fine and a threat of losing my passport if I get caught again, essentially threatening my ability to travel as a musician). Doods work looks like average stuff from an artschool kid. Doesn't really do much for me... although that wheatpaste overpass looked cool.

    I still do the occasional freight or catch streaks [occasionally dubs or whatever] but my days of being full-out active are kinda behind me. That being said, I think anyone that has ever been serious about graf knows what its like... you never really stop, even when you aren't really up. I still look for spots even when I'm not active, and cant really shake the invincibility complex that comes with being a writer... something that sometimes plagues my relationships, occasionally presents me with threatening social activity and keeps you on a fucked-up-most-of-the-time life schedule (meaning you do it active for a long time and eventually become a nightshift worker without realizing).

    If I could go back and not have done graffiti at all, I probably wouldn't have... but being busted is kinda part of the game. You know somewhere in your head that if you do it long enough that eventually you will get caught... or have serious beef, or get injured at a spot, hurt by train, get heat doing cleans, get caught racking, or some other serious shit.

    I dunno man, I think its just, on some level not worth it... but at the same time, its kinda like crack.

  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    Yeah the best is being caught and catching fame but no heat there's this recent montreal guy Roadsworth that does really good shit. The feds wanted to make an example out of him. But a whole movement was made (musicians and art journalists) and i dont think he got too much shit



    ps silvertone i caught you on tv A piece about your Jaune remix (nice set-up) yeah travelling shit would not have been a good look
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