Seinfeld Driver Caught Using Expired Parking Placard

Those NYPD-issued parking placards are GOLD, Jerry, pure GOLD! Although Mayor Bloomberg has cut back on the number of placards issued to city employees, drivers still cling to the precious perk, which lets them park for free at meters and many off-limits areas. On Wednesday CBS2 noticed funnyman Jerry Seinfeld getting dropped off at his studios on West 57th Street. His driver, retired narcotics officer Sgt. Timothy Gallagher, parked the car and escorted the Bee Movie star inside to work on his new program, The Marriage Ref. And the vehicle was left behind with an expired parking placard in the window—which never even belonged to Gallagher in the first place. (And yes, Seinfeld's driver really is named Gallagher!)

Because this is such a bombshell story, CBS2 immediately sought out Mayor Bloomberg for comment; a reporter asked him at a press opportunity, "Do you know if Jerry Seinfeld has a relationship with the NYPD and the Bronx Narcotics Bureau and if not how he would come in possession of a parking placard that allows him to park his personal vehicle on the street?" Bloomberg replied, "I have absolutely no idea. He's a great comedian. But I haven't talked to him. I haven't seen him in a while." Bloomberg then made a phone gesture with his hand and whispered to the cameras, "CALL ME." (Kidding.)

According to the Post, "NYPD big wigs leaped into action after being shown a picture of the placard. They determined it belonged to a Bronx narcotics officer, who sources said is not Gallagher, but a female detective who still works for the NYPD." The placard expired in 2007, and even when it was current, it could only be used to park near the Bronx narcotics bureau office. But as we saw back in July, you can pretty much just draw a parking placard replica in crayon and traffic agents will still believe it. It's being reported the NYPD is investigating this violation.

Seinfeld's rep issued a statement saying, "The placard belongs to his driver and security guy who is a retired police officer. He used the placard without Jerry's knowledge and will NEVER use it again." It's unclear whether the growing scandal will force Seinfeld to step down from his work on The Marriage Ref, but at least Gallagher's job is safe. Seinfeld's rep says, "Jerry feels that his driver was going out of his way to help him and will not" fire him, which is too bad because "Seinfeld and Gallagher No Longer a Team" would make a great headline.