LOS ANGELES — What may have been the largest single piece of graffiti in the nation is getting wiped out in Los Angeles. A contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday began painting over the gigantic letters “MTA” on the concrete bank of the Los Angeles River. Corps spokeswoman Jennie Ayala said the letters are 57 feet high and one-third of a mile long.
“MTA” stands for “Metro Transit Assassins.” Authorities contend the letters were painted on the riverbank by up to 40 taggers.
Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Koontz said 14 people were arrested this year. He said they could be ordered to pay millions in restitution if they’re convicted.
Sheriff’s Cmdr. Dan Finkelstein said the MTA tag took about 400 gallons of paint to create — 300 gallons white and 100 gallons black, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“It took them four nights to do it,” he said.
Cleaning graffiti is more expensive than painting over it, because the water from a high-pressure spray must be dammed to capture all the toxic runoff to prevent it from getting into the river.
![[prison 19] Caption: This is Cellhouse 1, Pod A, from ground level inside the Sterling Correctional Facility which is located outside of Sterling, Colorado Thursday afternoon. Photographer: LEW SHERMAN Title: FREELANCE Credit: SPECIAL TO THE POST City: Sterling State: CO Country: USA Date: 19990617 ObjectName: prison 19 Keyword: PUBDATE____1999_06_22](/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20151207__denverpostp1.jpg?w=538 "20151207__denverpost~p1.jpg")
