The Red LightRobin Hood

Why this page exists

TicketTrap.ai collects the public records behind camera ticketing programs: the contracts, the ticket counts, the money and the court rulings. Years before this site existed, one Long Island man challenged the cameras in his own county in public, under his own name, and accepted the consequences.

That willingness to stand up and be counted is what we admire. It inspired people around the world, and it inspired the people who built TicketTrap.ai. This page is our thank-you.

What he did

1. August 2015

   Ruth, then 42, posted videos of himself using a painter's extension rod to turn red-light cameras in Ronkonkoma toward the sky so they would not catch drivers. He was arrested and charged with criminal tampering and obstructing governmental administration. He smiled for his booking photo and called it civil disobedience.^{1, 2}

   “I did it because the public is being abused.”Stephen Ruth, to CBS New York, August 2015¹

2. January and April 2016

   Suffolk County police arrested him again. They said he cut wires and manipulated equipment on 18 cameras on April 9 and 10, and cut down a camera pole at County Road 83 and Old Town Road in Coram on Jan. 18. He was charged with two felony counts of second-degree criminal mischief.^{2, 3, 4}

3. June 2016

   He pleaded not guilty to a 17-count indictment and faced up to seven years in prison if convicted. He did not back down.⁵

   “If I get sentenced to time in jail, so be it.”Stephen Ruth, to CBS New York, June 2016⁵

4. 2016

   He took the fight to the ballot and to the county's lawmakers. He ran for the New York State Senate as a Libertarian against Majority Leader John Flanagan, and he testified repeatedly before the Suffolk County Legislature, urging it to repeal the red-light camera program. The Senate run was not successful.^{6, 8}

5. February 2017

   He pleaded guilty to criminal mischief in Riverhead on Feb. 8 and was placed on one year of probation instead of prison. He admitted tampering with 17 cameras between the summer of 2015 and the spring of 2016. Prosecutors put the damage at $85,000 and left the amount he would repay to the court.^{7, 8}

   “I was willing to go to jail from the beginning because I'm sticking up on behalf of those people who don't have a voice anymore.”Stephen Ruth, to TBR News Media, February 2017⁷

What he questioned

Ruth spoke up for drivers who, as he put it, made full stops before turning right on red and were ticketed anyway, and for veterans and senior citizens he said were being hit by the tickets.¹ He also argued that Suffolk County was breaking state law by adding a $30 fee to the $50 red-light ticket.³

Here is what the record shows since then. We report these events as they happened; we do not claim his actions caused them.

• In 2024 a state appeals court ruled that the $30 fee was unlawful. A proposed $57.5 million class settlement would repay drivers up to $36 per ticket; Suffolk County admitted no wrongdoing, and the settlement still needs final court approval.¹⁰
• Suffolk's red-light camera program ended on Dec. 1, 2024, after 14 years, when it was not renewed.⁹

From the Suffolk County Red Light Safety Program, as recorded in our database from the county's own annual report.

Source: Suffolk County TPVA: Red Light Safety Program 2020 Annual Report. Program ran Jun 15, 2010 to Dec 1, 2024.

Carry it forward, with records

Ruth paid for what he did with an arrest, a criminal case and probation. The way we carry his question forward is with public records, which anyone can request and nobody can be arrested for asking. Everything here is free.

Follow the latest on camera ticketing in the TicketTrap blog.

Stephen Ruth is not affiliated with TicketTrap.ai and has not endorsed this site. This page is our own tribute, written from the published news reports listed below. Tampering with a traffic camera is a crime; this page does not encourage anyone to do it.

Sources

1. Long Island Man Explains Why He Moved Red Light Cameras CBS New York, Aug. 26, 2015
2. "Red Light Robin Hood" strikes again TBR News Media, Apr. 12, 2016
3. Man busted for damaging red light cameras FOX 5 New York, Apr. 12, 2016
4. Red light Robin Hood busted again News 12 Long Island, Apr. 12, 2016
5. "Red Light Robin Hood" Back In Court On 17-Count Indictment CBS New York, June 3, 2016
6. Long Island "Red Light Robin Hood" Launches State Senate Campaign CBS New York, Sept. 7, 2016
7. "Red Light Robin Hood" dodges prison time TBR News Media, Feb. 14, 2017
8. Centereach Man Pleads Guilty to Vandalizing Red Light Cameras Long Island Press, Feb. 9, 2017
9. Legislator: Red-light camera program will end Dec. 1 in Suffolk County News 12 Long Island, Nov. 30, 2024
10. Suffolk red-light camera drivers could get up to $36 per ticket Riverhead News-Review, July 31, 2026