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That staph infection cleared up real fast

Around 8:15 p.m. yesterday, Rachel Zarrell spotted Sob Story Guy getting on the Orange Line at Chinatown:

Needed money to get to Worcester to "treat his staph infection." Was pretty gross.

But by 11, he'd either gotten it looked at or had just become resigned to it. Colin Steele reported from the Red Line near Harvard:

No story this time, just "anybody? Anybody?"

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Comments

Last week on Friday he was looking for money to see his foster child in Worcester & to have lunch with him! (Silver Line platform at South Station)

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I wonder if this is the same guy I saw a few weeks ago, asking for fare money to take the commuter rail to Worcester before all the beds were taken up at the shelter. He literally broke down in tears of desperation until someone gave him fare money.

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He really is the biggest drama queen of all time. Not just in the stories themselves, but in the impassioned, sobbing, angry, desperate delivery of whichever yarn he happens to be telling.

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There are two of them, who regularly frequent South Station. The "Original" of the two, has a large chunk of his hand missing-and is incredibly quick to get very vulgar when questioned. He's about 5'9 and skinny. The other one is a bit shorter, but tells similar stories-though not always as quick to shout obscenities.

They know better than to be in the station for very long at South-as they're going to get kicked out as soon as they're seen by an employee. They'll wait for trains to start boarding, then work their way through before the crew can get there. Supervisors and T Police went after one of them last week, but he blended into the crowd too quickly. They're ridiculously irritating.

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Yup, same guy....the bed was his thing few years ago. Kind of amazing it still works these days. People need to stop being naive.

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Ugh, its just pathetic. He is always trolling the Green E line looking for handouts.

I am guessing heroin. Usually problems like this eventually take care of itself but its sad to see people throw their money away like that.

He has been using the staph infection b/c it seems to work, people just toss him money to make him go away.

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he was asking everyone for five dollars at the Chinatown RMV last Wednesday because he said he's been waiting to get into a home and he was finally accepted -- he just needs an ID. Then, after no one would help him, he called a woman a 'C-nt' and was quickly scolded and yelled at by half the people waiting in line. People started to move in on him and he apologized, said 'I don't mean to hurt' and left in a fury.

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About finally getting housing. Someone gave him a twenty. He keeps doing it because it works. It's a shame.

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has the guts to arrest him for panhandling. That's the real shame, that we're so politically correct we let people like this harras paying passengers.

Although I bet if the T had their police force out on the platforms (instead of riding around in cruisers all day), you'd see far less of this type of activity.

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He's told me off with some choice words, when, after seeing him coming down the line at various Orange Line stations, I cut him off with a vacant "No thanks" before he started his schtick.

Oh boy, he didn't like that.

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What I've always wondered is, what is with Worcester that it features in so many sob stories?

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IF someone had a sob story about needing cash to reach a home within range of the subway, you can just use your CharlieCard to let him in.

Worcester is far enough that you need over $5.

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Funny, when I lived in Worcester they all needed money to get to Boston.

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What got me was hearing him giving his "have to get the next train to Worcester/I'm a rotten dad" spiel on the Red Line while headed AWAY from the Green Line/North Station. I mean, damn....make an effort!

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A few weeks ago, he turned up on the 9:35 outbound train to Newburyport, and gave the typical sob story, need money to Worcester etc with the fake semi-crying and the whole thing. One guy gave him 3 bucks, but train regulars like me told sob story guy to screw off. I later told the guy who gave him the money he was a no-good drug addict, and the guy felt pretty dumb. Seriously, this guy needs to be banned from North and South Station, give the Transit Police something to do. I loathe him.

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Where does he get his T pass, I wonder?

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Where you can post a quick picture, date/time/location, and sob story/hook.

That way, we can identify the grifters pretty quickly.

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That's a great idea. As is loudly telling the guy to go knock it off when you see him.

The davis_square Livejournal community used this tactic to get rid of the Spare Change Scammer.

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I have to agree. There should be some sort of panhandler facebook feed. I have yet to see sob story guy. However, I see other sob story people every day. They sit in the same spot with the same story wanting money for food/drink. BUUT when you offer them actual food or drink, the decline. Sketchy! - Mea www.hertrainstories.blogspot.com

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The best was the girl on crutches in the public garden / copley area. She would ask you first if you have heard of Amtrak (as if someone has never heard of Amtrak?) and then ask for money to take a train. She would be wearing a cast on her foot/leg with crutches. If you waited around long enough you would see her just walk away, without use of the crutches. She also had a boyfriend lurking nearby if anyone confronted her. I hope people caught on to her pretty quickly, seeing as she didn't seem to remember she asked the same people the same question about amtrak every day...

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Yup, I've seen her. She started by asking me, "Do you live around here?" and I thought she was going to ask for directions. Then she started talking about needing to take a train and I said, "Nope, sorry" and walked off. She yelled after me, "I didn't even ask you anything!" Yes, I'm sure she just wanted to talk about her train-riding adventures.

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He has been playing this game for years. It used to be a bed in Fall River that he desperately needed to get to. Nothing ruins my day quite like running into him on the T.

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i used to see him weekly around the downtown area on the T also he would go to SS and run through trains that had just arrived asking for $$ to get to Worcester, one time a conductor told him he didn't need the money and he could ride for free and then he just dissapeared

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Give him a one-way bus ticket to wherever he wants to go out of Boston and hope that he doesn't come back.

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Does anyone have a picture of SSG? I'm pretty sure he was on at Kendall this morning.

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Deport him to San Francisco.

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waste of time

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Starbucks at Berklee on Mass Ave.

Finally get to make his acquaintance. Honestly, far less annoying that the girl sitting next to me eating per au bon pain lunch ... and nothing from Starbucks.

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Can somebody please give a physical description of this dude? I've seen a guy multiple times on the red line, usually in Cambridge, who gets really sad and teary eyed. He's kind of short, maybe 5'-6-7", average build, balding shaved head, facial hair, looks ethnically maybe Greek, Armenian, something like that. He gets real emotional and the train gets dead quiet and no one wants to look at him. Thing is, I've seen him when he looked a wreck and I've seen him with relatively clean clothes, freshly shaved with his facial hair well groomed, etc. I assume he's a druggie.

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His clothes change, but the physical description matches the guy I've seen running this con on the Green Line multiple times.

It probably would be a good public service for Universal Hub to document all the local con artists by typical sob story, frequent locations, physical description, and photographs as a warning to others.

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I've seen him several times on the T, but tonight, got to hear him while I was sitting outside at a pub on Boylston St. Never seen him give his spiel to paying restaurant-goers before, working his way down the outdoor dining areas.

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The "anybody? anybody?" guy is an older black guy. Starts his spiel with "Can I have your undivided attention.." He claims to be sober, but is obviously intoxicated. He usually gives his speech,stays calm,and moves to the next car each stop.

The other guy is a friggin' maniac white junkie claiming a spot at a rehab if he gets the money for the commuter rail. He goes into histrionics,cursing,throwing himself to the floor,etc. He looks and acts extremely dangerous at times and I'm amazed that I have seen him doing this shit for about 3 years. How he's not dead or in jail,I don't know.

They're used to be a blonde middle aged woman running her scam on the redline,too,but I haven't seen her for a while.

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If it's the same person I'm thinking of, her story was that she just got a job at a hair salon but it doesn't start for a week and she needs money to make it till then.

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I call this guy out EVERY time he starts his thing, whether it's Red Line, South Station, Green line, what have you. People usually laugh and he gets off at the next stop, embarrassed. Just following the whole "see something, say something" rule so nobody gives him money. If he starts the staph infection thing when I'm on the T next time, I will tell him I'm alerting transit police to his medical emergency, as MRSA (a type of staph) is easily transmitted and thus a public health issue. I'd also like to try offering help in the form of non-monetary things and see how accepting he is of it - as in, well why don't we call your Springfield rehab and see if they'd be willing to pay for your ride? It can't hurt to call and ask. What's the number? And see how fast he bails at the next stop.

So many places to go with this one. Gotta do something to pass the time from Haymarket to Oak Grove. I can't wait to see him again!

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oh and I also informed him (and the other passengers) that there's a whole online thread (this one) devoted to him and his Sob Stories and that that's what he's known as. Boston's a small city, he's like Borat now, how long can he continue it without his game being blown right away?

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