CNN's Richard Quest arrested

[B. Goren.]

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1832900220080419

[7/4]

I knew it.

I always thought he was a speed freak. Something about that expression on his face...

I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.

[Christiern]

He said he didn't know that there was a 1 AM curfew for Central Park. I can believe that, I live across the street from that park and never knew that there was any curfew. Typical for NYPD, they use their silly little laws selectively. For years (and, perhaps, still) it was against the law to sit at a bar and face the other way--the NYPD only enforced that nonsense when they wanted an excuse to arrest or harass.

[7/4]

I don't think it was all about the curfew. He could have gotten a hotel room.

.

[BERIGAN]

Guys, that ain't half the story!!

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04192008/news/...knot_107174.htm

[7/4]

Guys, that ain't half the story!!

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04192008/news/...knot_107174.htm

KINKY NEWS NETWORK

By DAREH GREGORIAN and PHILIP MESSING

April 19, 2008 --

This is CNN? Kinky!

CNN personality Richard Quest was busted in Central Park early yesterday with some drugs in his pocket, a rope around his neck that was tied to his genitals, and a sex toy in his boot, law-enforcement sources said.

Quest, 46, was arrested at around 3:40 a.m. after a cop spotted him and another man inside the park near 64th Street, a police source said.

The criminal complaint against Quest said the park was closed at the time - something Quest should have known because of all the signs saying "Park Closed 1 a.m. to 6 a.m."

Quest was initially busted for loitering, the source said. Aside from the oddly configured rope, the search also turned up a sex toy inside of his boot, and a small bag of methamphetamine in his left jacket pocket.

It wasn't immediately clear what the rope was for.

The criminal complaint says the officer at the scene was able to ID the drug because of "his prior experience as a police officer in drug arrests, observation of packaging which is characteristic of this type of drug, and defendant's statements that . . . 'I've got some meth in my pocket.' "

He was charged with loitering and criminal possession of a controlled substance. His unusual get-up didn't lead to a lewdness charge because he wasn't exposing himself, the police source said.

Quest's unidentified companion was given a summons for not carrying any identification, the source said.

Quest's lawyer, Alan Abramson, had a much more innocuous version of events.

"Mr. Quest didn't realize that the park had a curfew," Abramson said. He was simply "returning to his hotel with friends."

At a hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court, Quest agreed to undergo six months of drug counseling in return for an "adjournment in contemplation of dismissal," which means the misdemeanor charges against him will be dropped and the case sealed if he stays out of trouble and completes his drug program.

He was released with no bail after spending most of the day behind bars.

Abramson predicted after the hearing that "the case will be dismissed." He declined to answer questions.

Quest, known for his hollering antics and stunts on the cable news network and its international counterpart, declined comment, as did a CNN spokeswoman.

On his official CNN bio, the network calls him "one of the most instantly recognizable members of the CNN team."

"He has become one of the network's highest profile presenters," and his "dynamic and distinctive style has made him a unique figure in the field of business and news broadcasting," the network's Web site says.

He was reportedly once offered a position for the English-language version of the controversial Al Jazeera network, but said he turned it down because being gay and Jewish, he didn't think it would be a good fit.

[7/4]

The criminal complaint says the officer at the scene was able to ID the drug because of "his prior experience as a police officer in drug arrests, observation of packaging which is characteristic of this type of drug, and defendant's statements that . . . 'I've got some meth in my pocket.' "

[Jazzmoose]

Well, that explains the silly grin...

[GA Russell]

Quest's unidentified companion was given a summons for not carrying any identification, the source said.

What's up with that? You have to have an ID with you at all times in New York? That sounds like the Nazis demanding to see your papers.

[Dan Gould]

He said he didn't know that there was a 1 AM curfew for Central Park. I can believe that, I live across the street from that park and never knew that there was any curfew.

The criminal complaint against Quest said the park was closed at the time - something Quest should have known because of all the signs saying "Park Closed 1 a.m. to 6 a.m."

So Chris, you live across the street from the park, are there signs or aren't there? Or did you just assume that the signs don't have any force?

[Christiern]

If there are such signs where I live, I have not noticed them. Since I no longer have a dog, I don't enter the park after 1 pm, and I know that there was no such curfew in place when I did have Mingus and Bessie.

I should add that, from my window, I do see people walking their dogs or running themselves between 1 AM and 6 AM. But these are, as far as I know, not "as seen on TV" types.

[7/4]

Well, that explains the silly grin...

exactly...

People tried to tell me he was smiling like that because he's gay, but I said, like, no way, he's really high on drugs and what do you know it turns out that's exactly what was going on...he was always high on drugs...he was, I read it on the internet and it was on the news, so it must be true, he was always high on drugs.

[Chuck Nessa]

The rope doesn't show!

[Rooster_Ties]

THE very first search hit on Youtube (for Richard Quest) explains the rope -- or at least confirms his interest in rope. Seriously...

[BruceH]

I wonder what his brother Johnny would say.

[AllenLowe]

"a rope around his neck that was tied to his genitals"

gives new meaning to "pulling your pud"