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East Hampton may be home to some of the richest people around, but the town itself is on the verge of bankruptcy. It's now facing an $18 million deficit by the end of the year, partly because most of the officials responsible for managing the town's finances over the past few years have turned out to be crooks. (In what is becoming a tradition of sorts, another local official was arrested this week—he served as budget officer until recently—and was charged with seven felonies.)

But East Hampton may have figured out the perfect way to make up the difference: by papering the cars of wealthy residents with parking tickets. Take, for example, the fundraiser last weekend for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, the non-profit that runs the Harvey Milk School downtown. The event managed to raise $125,000 for the charity. But the local cops turned up, too, and handed out 56 parking tickets at $60 a pop, which means East Hampton closed out the night $3,360 richer. And so everybody wins, it seems!

Former East Hampton budget officer charged [NYDN]
East Hampton Village Police Hand Out 56 Tickets [PlumTV]