Judging by the number of parking tickets the City of New Orleans claims Mary Kieff has, and the staggering fines they say she owes, you would think she must be public enemy No. 1.

But Mary says the tickets can't be legitimate, because neither she nor her car were in New Orleans on the days and times they were written.

"Some of them are four tickets in one day – four parking tickets, no stopping any time, no parking in a freight zone, no license plate,” Kieff said.

She says her car hasn’t even been in Orleans Parish over the past two years.

Kieff lives on the West Bank and works at a Harvey company, handling customer service requests from clients in three states. Her bosses confirm her statement.

"100 percent of the time that we've looked at the tickets, Mary has been at work,” said Personnel Director Al Hortard. “The car has been here."

Kieff says letters to the city have produced no help.

"Some of the tickets are not even the same description as my car,” Kieff said. “Someone open your eyes and see that this is not me.”

So how could there be so many tickets if the car wasn't actually in Orleans Parish? Her license plate, a special personalized tag, has just two letters on it: ZZ. Mary's husband loves the band with that name.

"He loves to sing and he whistles, everything is about ZZ Top,” Kieff said. “Oh, I could pitch it, and I told him, when I get a new vehicle, that's gone."

I contacted the director of the city's public works department, and he said he would look into this situation.

"We need to get this resolved immediately,” Kieff said. “I'm afraid this is going to cause problems. I've even gotten one that says they will put me in collection, pending collection status. That would mean my credit."

source: wwltv.com

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