Parking Court: 'Phuc Auf & Di' = $76 Extra

This week's cover story may have left the impression that Multnomah County judges are pretty lenient with parking violators. Most of the so-called "mail pleas" we reprinted in the story resulted in lowered fines.

But it turns out extreme rudeness doesn't pay. Case in point — one alleged violator had his fine jacked up to $100 after he wrote "Phuc Auf & Di" on his ticket and made his check out to the "Den of Thieves."

Clifford Watkins of Molalla was given a $24 ticket for meter feeding when he parked Feb. 10 on Southwest Broadway between Salmon and Main streets.

Here's a copy of the ticket Watkins sent back to the court:



The ticket was accompanied by this money order:



That didn't go over well with Judge Michael Zusman. The court informed Watkins in a March 31 letter that Zusman had raised his fine to $100 based on his note.

Watkins is now fighting that decision in court. A trial is set for Oct. 15.