Posted Nov 25th 2009 3:15PM by TMZ Staff
Maria Shriver ... did she get a special break yesterday when she went muffin/shoe shopping in Santa Monica, CA and left her SUV next to an expired parking meter? We decided to see for ourselves, and frankly ... we didn't do so well.
TMZ's intrepid muffin-eating reporter, Gary, went to Peet's Coffee -- the scene of Maria's crime. Gary left his whip at an expired meter and went inside for an orange-cranberry muffin. Gary was gorging himself when he looked out the window and saw a parking enforcement lady drive up to his car and get out.
Gary ran outside and pleaded, "I'm sorry. My meter must have ran out. I was inside getting muffins that were very important. I'm leaving right now."
Her response: "Sorry, there's nothing I can do for you. That's the way it is." She proceeded to write Gary a $50 parking ticket.
In fairness, Gary did not have a Dignitary Protection deputy to plead his case.
But, Gary says, the muffin was "delicious."
UPDATE: We apologize to Gary's mother ... who was under the impression he was on a diet.
Filed under: Politix, Exclusives, Maria Shriver, Muffingate
Tags: arnold schwarzeneggar, ArnoldSchwarzeneggar, california, governor, maria shriver, MariaShriver, muffingate, parking, parking ticket, ParkingTicket, santa monica, SantaMonica
Posted Nov 25th 2009 12:15PM by TMZ Staff
Maria Shriver crossed the line yesterday when she went shoe and muffin shopping in Santa Monica yesterday without feeding her meter ... but several law enforcement sources say they also have problems with the way the situation was handled.
One law enforcement source says he would have handled it this way: "Maria, put a quarter in the meter!" He had no good answer why Maria didn't get ticketed and why a CHP deputy in the Dignitary Protection Unit stepped in to convince the parking cop to back off on writing a citation.
Initially, a rep from the Santa Monica PD told TMZ if Maria had a placard on her dash showing she was on official business the cop wouldn't write the ticket. But there was no placard in the window and last we checked eating a muffin and shopping for shoes has nothing to do with the business of California.
The rep also said the cop had "discretion" in writing a ticket. But another law enforcement source said Maria should have to pay the piper, one way or the other.
As for driving off without a seat belt, the Santa Monica official told us no one saw it.
As for official comment from law enforcement -- everyone seems scared to cross Guv Arnold Schwarzenegger, so mum's the word.
So far, no comment from the Governor's office either. Ditto Maria's.
Filed under: Politix, Exclusives, Maria Shriver, Muffingate
Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, maria shriver, MariaShriver, muffingate
Posted Nov 25th 2009 9:55AM by TMZ Staff
Not to be outdone by hubby Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver broke two more road rules yesterday, but again she got off scot-free.
The rebellious First Lady of California was walking out of Peet's Coffee in Santa Monica when a vigilant parking enforcement officer noticed her meter had expired. The officer pulled out his rusty, trusty "auto-cite" device to ticket the vehicle, when suddenly one of Maria's security dudes ran up to him, flashed something at the officer and did some fast talking.
In the end, the officer backed off without writing a ticket. Maria then got in her SUV, took off her glasses and began eating her muffin as the expired meter continued blinking.
Oh, and there's this .... she drove off without securing her seat belt.
A Santa Monica police official tells TMZ writing a parking ticket is "discretionary." He also said if Maria was on official business she'd be exempt from parking laws, provided she had a placard on the dash. We saw no placard and -- last we checked -- eating a muffin is not official business.
UPDATE: A Santa Monica police official now tells TMZ the parking enforcement officer was about to write the ticket when a man walked up to the officer and said he was a member of the CHP Dignitary Protection Unit. The CHP guy then said he understood the officer had a job to do but the dignitary would be gone in less than 5 minutes. At that point the parking enforcement officer backed off, but issued a warning.
As for Maria then getting in the SUV, eating a muffin and driving off without her seat belt, the parking official says his officer didn't see that.
We contacted the CHP -- they have no comment on the situation.
Filed under: Paparazzi Video, Politix, Exclusives, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver, Muffingate
Tags: above the law, AboveTheLaw, arnold schwarzenegger, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, maria shriver, MariaShriver, parking ticket, ParkingTicket, road rules, RoadRules, ticket
Posted Nov 24th 2009 2:50PM by TMZ Staff
Arnold Schwarzenegger clearly learned a thing or two about falling on the sword ... because he made no excuses about parking his Porsche in a red zone the other day.
Will Arnold's bold mea culpa influence Maria -- who's been known to break a traffic law or two?
Stay tuned.
Filed under: Politix, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver
Tags: arnold schwazrenegger, ArnoldSchwazrenegger, maria shriver, MariaShriver, parking ticket, ParkingTicket, red zone, RedZone, video
Posted Oct 26th 2009 5:24PM by TMZ Staff
Maria Shriver is sorry. Again.
The First Lady of California released a statement through her office this afternoon, apologizing for her latest driving gaffe -- parking in a red zone this weekend for over an hour.
Earlier this month, Maria was caught on tape driving while on a cell phone -- three separate times -- a big no-no in California. Maria apologized for that one too.
Maybe now she's learned her lesson.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Politix, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver
Tags: car, driving, maria shriver, MariaShriver, parking, red zone, RedZone
Posted Oct 26th 2009 10:05AM by TMZ Staff
Arnold's really gonna be seeing red after this because his scofflaw wife once again blatantly disobeyed the rules of the road ... and parked her non-emergency vehicle in a red zone!!!!
We're told Maria Shriver left her Escalade in the verboten spot for almost an hour while visiting the doctor's office in Santa Monica.
Maria should have known better -- her husband wrote the intro to the DMV's 2009 "California Driver Handbook," which includes the passage, "As Governor, I urge you to study this handbook and apply what you learn to help keep you and your loved ones safe."
Page 51 clearly states the rules of the red zone, "Red: No stopping, standing, or parking."
On the plus side -- at least the First Lady of California got off the phone before driving away this time.
Filed under: Paparazzi Video, Politix, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver
Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, maria shriver, MariaShriver, parking, red zone, RedZone
Posted Oct 19th 2009 12:15AM by TMZ Staff
The cell phone abusing First Lady of California appeared on "Today" this morning -- where the whole crew wasted no time bustin' her chops over that whole talking-while-driving thing.
When asked about the handsfree debacle, Maria Shriver said "Of all the things I've done in my life, this has gotten the most attention."
Here we thought it was marrying Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Filed under: TV, Politix, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver
Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, cell phone, CellPhone, maria shriver, MariaShriver, today show, TodayShow
Posted Oct 15th 2009 4:56PM by TMZ Staff
It's the ultimate hands-free solution -- Maria Shriver didn't just get a Bluetooth ... the habitual cell phone violator also got herself a driver!!!
Today, the woman who got in trouble with her husband for having a cell phone conversation while she was driving -- ironically had lunch at a place called La Conversation in West Hollywood.
After the meal, Arnold Schwarzenegger's wife sat shotgun in her waiting ride -- where she was legally free to yap her ear off as much as she'd like.
Filed under: Politix, Exclusives, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver
Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, cell phone, CellPhone, hands free, HandsFree, la conversacion, LaConversacion, maria shriver, MariaShriver
Posted Oct 15th 2009 9:00AM by TMZ Staff
According to Matt Lauer, Maria Shriver finally moved out of the dangerous and illegal cell phone Dark Ages -- and texted him from her new "hands-free" device. This after her husband, Guv Arnold Schwarzenegger, promised "swift action" after seeing our footage of Maria illegally yapping away while driving in L.A.
Of course, she needed to use her hands to text -- let's just hope she wasn't driving when she did it.
Filed under: TV, Maria Shriver
Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, cell phone, CellPhone, law, maria shriver, MariaShriver, matt lauer, MattLauer, today show, TodayShow
Posted Oct 14th 2009 6:47PM by TMZ Staff
Just one day after Arnold Schwarzenegger promised "swift action" -- Maria Shriver has issued an apology for her repeated illegal use of her cell phone while driving.
"I'm sorry. I will be donating my favorite old cell phone to my Women's Conference partner Verizon through their HopeLine program that helps domestic violence shelters.
I invite anyone else who wants to recycle their old phone to join me.
That's my version of swift action with a higher purpose."
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Politix, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver
Tags: apology, arnold schwarzenegger, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, cell phone, CellPhone, maria shriver, MariaShriver, statement
Posted Oct 14th 2009 12:58AM by TMZ Staff
Dear Gov. Schwarzenegger,
While you were Twittering a few minutes ago about the "swift action" coming to Maria, your scofflaw wife was at it again -- jawing away on a handheld cell phone while driving in Brentwood.
But it gets worse ... while Maria was illegally yappin' away (the third time she's been photographed doin' it) she saw our cameraman catching the illegal activity on tape -- and that's when she dropped the phone in an attempt to cover it up! The tape does not lie....
Arnold, the fines are bad enough -- but do you have any idea what your Verizon bill is gonna look like?
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Politix, Exclusives, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver
Tags: arnold schwarzenegger, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, cell phone, CellPhone, governor, law, maria shriver, MariaShriver, twitter
Posted Oct 13th 2009 8:09PM by TMZ Staff
Maria Shriver's in hot water....
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has finally caught wind of his wife's illegal -- and habitual -- cell phone antics ... and now he's finally gonna do something about it!
Ahnald just went on Twitter and dropped the following note to Harvey Levin:
"Thanks for bringing her violations to my attention. There's going to be swift action."
Those Democrats -- they never learn ... right Arnold?
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Paparazzi Photo, Politix, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver
Tags: arnold schwarzenneger, ArnoldSchwarzenneger, governor, maria shriver, MariaShriver, twitter
Posted Oct 13th 2009 12:50PM by TMZ Staff
Maria Maria, cell phone cheatah! It appears Maria Shriver broke the law prohibiting driving under the influence of a cell phone -- a law her hubby supported and signed into law last year.
Kaleefornia Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger apparently can't lay down the law in his own home. Maria was photographed twice driving her car while holding her cell phone -- most recently last Sunday in Los Angeles.
Had Shriver been busted, she would have owed the bankrupt state of California $20 plus fees for the first offense ... $50 plus fees for the second. BTW, we need every dime we can get.
We called the Guv's office and Maria's rep yesterday -- radio silence.
Filed under: Paparazzi Photo, Politix, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver
Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, cell phone, CellPhone, driving, Governor, illegal, maria Shriver, MariaShriver
