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Alleged Orange Line thug arrested

Alleged attacker MBTA Transit Police report arresting a Somerville man for an attack on two women on the Orange Line last month.

Joseph Balistreri, 36, was arrested at his home around 1:30 p.m. today after Transit Police say they received numerous tips from people who recognized him from grainy photos posted yesterday. Balistreri will be arraigned Monday in Charlestown District Court on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon - a shod foot.

According to an MBTA police report, the women said they were sitting on an inbound train near Sullivan around 11 p.m. on Nov. 19 when Balistreri approached them and called both of them "lesbians" and one of them a "nigger:"

Both victims then stated that the suspect kicked them both, hitting [one victim] in the bottom lip, causing the laceration and swelling and [the other victim] in the chest. After the altercation, the suspect spat on both the faces of [the victims] and left the station in an unknown direction of flight.

The report says video cameras showed he gotten on the train about ten minutes earlier by jumping over the fare gates at Malden.

He is currently being held in lieu of $7,500 bail, the MBTA reports.

Read the police report on the incident.

Innocent, etc.

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Comments

I'll bet his general asshollery in his daily life helped people ID him.

Where is this nest of 30- and 40-something losers they are keeping around here. Can we use it as a bombing range?

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After reading the police report one could conclude that the first officers on the scene did a great job and had this punks picture within an hour.

The Bad Work was done by whover dropped the ball and did nothing for three weeks before releasing the photos to the public. This clown was allowed to ride the orange line for the past three weeks. Thank God he didn't strike again.

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I don't understand why no one is holding the police or the T accountable for the delay in circulating the pic.

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will this perp be charged with violations of hate crime statutes, I hope?

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Why don't we find out what really happened before we start talking about hate crimes. How do you know that he wasn't protecting himself against these two girls! There's no video that shows what really happened! I was at Ruggles station years ago w/ my mother and almost got jumped by 4 girls....because..Who knows! So don't believe everything you see/hear from the media. It seems kinda weird that a guy would just walk up to 2 girls and start kicking/spitting and name calling for now reason! I know Joe personally and he's really a great guy that would do anything for you. He is NOT a racist!!!

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+50 points for the alleged perp's girlfriend showing up and stating that he's a good guy, wouldn't hurt a fly, etc.

(Failed to pick up additional points since she didn't write in all caps or use one hugeass run-on sentence.)

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If you are thirty-six years old and constantly being arrested for being a douchebag, I don't think its such a conspiracy.

I wonder what this bonehead's excuses for his previous behavior are? As noted above, this ain't his first contact with the law and, well, how many people would have ratted him out based on those images if he was such a sweet guy?

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...except pay his subway fare at Malden Center station where he was video'd jumping a turnstile moments before assaulting two teens (allegedly).

I agree it seems weird that a guy would just walk up to two girls and start harassing them for no reason. I also think its weird for an otherwise "great guy" not pay his 1.70 fare like every other decent transit rider in this area and jump a turnstile like a total jackass. But I guess that video proves that weird things do happen. oh well.

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So...a guy who comes up to two girls out of the blue, calls one a Lesbian and the other a n****r and physically assaults them isn't committing a hate crime??!? If that's not a hate crime, then I don't know what it is!

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Also, he was formally charged with two counts of civil rights violations, two counts of assault and battery, and single counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, according to the Suffolk County DA's office, which adds that should he make bail, he has to stay off the T pending his trial.

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My "TeeVee" knowledge of bail is that he can pay a bail bondsman 10 percent of that- or 1800 bucks and make bail?

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Jake Wark can correct me, but the press release from the DA's office actually specified "$18,000 cash bail" as opposed to the other kind.

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That's right -- he can post $18,000 in cash or $180,000 in surety to get out before trial. Arrangements with bailbondsmen are up to the repective arrangers, but there's usually interest on them.

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Never know what bail actually means when I see it in the news.

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