While many artists don't get recognition until after death, two graffiti "artists" were recognized by Brookline police for at least 29 tags--and arrested.

Brookline police arrested and charged 21-year-old Christopher Levett, an East Boston resident on five counts of graffiti tagging, but believe that there are 400 documented tags around town connected to the tagging pseudonyms of him and another man.

On July 19, Brookline police arrested 17-year-old Village Way resident, John Dinius. Police searched the home of a known graffiti tagger, and arrested and charged him with 24 counts of graffiti law violation--and issued an arrest warrant for Levett. Dinius has been tagging recently with the moniker LOKI.

The two taggers met at parties Dinius threw at his Tappan Street home about two years ago, Dinius told police. 

Dinius directed police to Levett's ex-girlfriend, who said she broke up with Levett about six months ago, because of his fascination with tagging, with spreading his tag to as many places as possible. She told police that he went from tagging once a week to tagging every night.

He would often leave at 11 p.m., and start tagging along the T tracks around Cleveland Circle and Beaconsfield, and along Clinton Path and Tappan Street, then return around 4 a.m., according to the ex girlfriend. 

Some of the tags were pre-written on stickers from the post office. When police asked about his use of postal stickers for tagging, the ex said that not only did he use stickers, he would also pass pre-tagged stickers out to friends.

Police arrested Levett at work on July 24 around midnight. He initially denied being connected to the tags, until police confronted him with their evidence, including the discovery of NUGS tags in his bedroom, which police found when executing a search warrant in his East Boston home. 

Between police reports, BrookOnline submissions, and the work of one concerned citizen who has been defending Brookline Village from graffiti, police have over 400 documented cases of graffiti tagging which they believe are connected to Levett and Dinius' pseudonyms.

The graffiti defender has chronicled his battle with PHOP's tags on the Reservoir footbridge on a Tumblr account called Brookline Graffiti Removal (via Universal Hub). 

Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction. Suspects are innocent until proven guilty.