Ice Cream Man Fined, Told To Turn Down Volume In Methuen
METHUEN (CBS) - Gilbert Harb has been behind the wheel of his ice cream truck for four years handing out little frozen bits of summer everywhere he goes.
But last month he got an icy welcome at Rangers Stadium for the Methuen High School graduation.
"He pulled in right before the ceremony was to start; disrupted the assembly,' says Methuen Police Captain Randy Haggar.
"He was loud, really loud." Capt. Haggar says it's not the first time, last year Harb got a warning. "It's not our goal to go out to issue someone a fine the first time around. This is after numerous dealings multiple verbal warnings," said Haggar
WBZ-TV's Diana Perez reports
Three days later Gilbert found a $100 fine in his mailbox for being too noisy. He says he's being singled out and plans to fight the fine in court.
Capt. Haggar says there's a simple solution, just turn it down. "The issue here is not selling ice cream in our city, the issue is noise and noise is a quality of life issue," said Haggar.
But Gilbert wants to know, without music how he could keep kids coming back for more. "I'm not going to stick my head out the window and scream 'ice cream' all day," said Harb.
Frequent truck follower and avid ice cream fan, nine-year-old Yara Turkmani is on Gilbert's side and says police should just cool it. "He's just making a living so I think he shouldn't get a ticket," said Turkmani. "If the police don't care about his job well they should just mind their own bees-wax!"
Gilbert's solution is less frosty; he says he'll just keep it down in Methuen.
