New York City resident Robert Kanter was surprised when his apartment buzzer rang and a voice announced, "This is the sanitation police." Kanter came out and, according to the New York Times, the sanitation officer demanded to know, "Did you throw this envelope in the litter basket?" The officer declared that it was against the law to throw household garbage in a litter basket. The sanitation cop had found two envelopes addressed to Kanter in a litter basket she had pawed through nearby. Kanter denied placing his household trash in the basket; he suggested that someone had taken the garbage bag from his apartment house and carried it off to look for soda cans. The officer sternly informed Kanter that he faced a $50 fine if he pled guilty, and a $100 fine if he contested the fine and was later found guilty.

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