Not even the U.S. Secret Service is immune from the wrath of Baltimore parking agents.
Baltimore parking authority officials confirmed today that Jenna Bush's Secret Service vehicle was towed for several unpaid parking tickets.
The Secret Service vehicle was towed from in front of Bush's South Baltimore home, a source told Investigative Voice. Vehicles are booted and towed for three or more unpaid parking tickets.
Parking officials said they did not know how many tickets the Secret Service vehicle had.
Baltimore parking officials recently launched an aggressive effort to collect upaid tickets, using a private law firm to collect $130 million for 80,000 unpaid citations. The city issues 500,000 parking tickets per year, collecting nearly $20 million annually in fines and penalties.
The Baltimore Department of Transportation did not immediately return calls for comment, but the vehicle was towed to one of the city's impound lot yards. Parking authority offiicals said the Secret Service contacted them early Friday morning to pay the fines and release the vehicle.
Scott Peterson, spokesman for Mayor Sheila Dixon, said city parking agents were simply doing their job.
"Two undescribed vehicles were ticketed. One of the vehicles was towed for a non-moving violation in Baltimore City," Peterson said in an e-mail Friday afternoon. "The agent in charge of the protective detail is now paying the fines and arranging for the vehicle to be towed and released. Due to the nature of this protective matter of national security, no other details will be released."
Jenna Bush, a teacher, relocated last year to South Baltimore, with husband Henry Hager, who works for Constellation Energy.
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