Four New York City, New York meter maids were arrested yesterday for issuing bogus tickets to downtown motorists. Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau filed felony forgery charges against Gregory Baird, 56; Davey Griffin, 30; and Raheem King, 26. Julian Fisher, 24, faces misdemeanor official misconduct charges.

"The tickets written by Griffin, King and Fischer were all issued while the agents sat in their patrol cars," the district attorney's statement explained. "They never left their patrol vehicles to actually serve a ticket on any driver or leave a ticket on a car windshield."

Baird is accused of using the same tactic while on foot. According to the complaint, the meter maids would write down license plates of cars seen in passing at the beginning of their shift. They would then relax knowing that, later, they would fulfill their quota by punching in those license plate numbers and making up an offense to record into their handheld ticketing computer. The four allegedly targeted out-of-state drivers from New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania who were unlikely to challenge the citations that were never placed on any vehicles.

Numerous motorists did take offense at the bogus overdue ticket notices that they received. After they bombarded the New York City Police Department with complaints, officials opened an investigation that placed the meter maids under surveillance in late June.

Forgery in the second degree carries a seven year prison sentence. Baird, Griffin and King also face counts of official misconduct, falsifying business records and offering a false instrument. These misdemeanors carry up to a year in jail as punishment. A meter maid in Queens was arrested for the same offense in May 2006.