Santa gives toys, gets parking ticket

NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A New York Santa Claus said the city sent him a summons for double-parking while handing out gifts to children.

Santa, known on non-Christmas-related occasions as Chip Cafiero, 60, said he was riding a horse-drawn carriage while handing out toys in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of New York's Brooklyn borough when he saw a traffic agent heading for the Chevy Suburban that was driving alongside him to protect the horse from traffic, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

"I saw this (traffic agent) jump out of her car and I said to one of my elves, 'She's going to give me a ticket,'" said Cafiero said. "The kids started crying: 'That's Santa's car! That's Santa's car!' But this grinch just went ahead and fined me anyways. Talk about a complete lack of Christmas spirit."

Cafiero said he will fight the $115 double-parking fine in court.

"I realize I was double-parked, but for goodness' sake I was handing out gifts to children," he said. "We weren't blocking traffic. Can't these agents show a little common courtesy?"