Tony Q69 vs. scorned passenger: The signs outside the bus go up and down up and down...
Some top-notch journalism has revealed that Astoria’s Tony Q69 is none other than Tony Burns, a veteran bus driver who insists he did nothing to deserve the countless hostile signs that have sprouted up along his route this year. According to the New York Post article, Gina Trapano,48 of Astoria, went all Fatal Attraction on Burns when…
Some top-notch journalism has revealed that Astoria’s Tony Q69 is none other than Tony Burns, a veteran bus driver who insists he did nothing to deserve the countless hostile signs that have sprouted up along his route this year.
According to the New York Post article, Gina Trapano,48 of Astoria, went all Fatal Attraction on Burns when he refused her advances.
“I called the lady, and I told her, I said: ‘Look, I read your letter. I appreciate your interest but I’m married and I don’t get involved with my passengers like that.’ ”
But Burns made one mistake.
“I didn’t block my number,” he recalled ruefully.
Trapano is said to have called Burns repeatedly, her demands increasingly strange. At one point, she even asked him to set her up with any friends he might have. She allegedly called him 45 times in one day, and it seems Post reporters were able to listen to several of the messages:
“Let’s face it, I’m the one who gave you the note, so I really, really wanted to meet you,” she said in one message. In another: “Try to call me and let me know, because if you’re not answering these messages, I’m not going to know your answer, and then I have to keep calling.”
Totally logical.
“Then things got weird,” the Post writes (as if things weren’t weird already), Trapano allegedly started posting signs along Burns’ bus route denigrating him.
Burns says he has witnessed Trapano out on the Q69 route, putting up the fliers.
Awkward.
“I’ve seen her do it a couple of times,” he said. “Unless you know who Tony Q69 is, you’d think it’s somebody who had an affair with this woman.
“You ever seen that movie ‘Misery’? That’s what she reminds me of.”
Even after Burns complained about Trapano to the NYPD, he was investigated by his employer based upon Trapano’s accusations of impropriety.
“I just want the truth to be told so everyone knows: Tony Q69 didn’t flirt with anybody. I am not trying to get involved with any ‘Fatal Attraction.’ ”
Trapano refused repeated requests for comment.
The lamp posts beg to differ. JK.
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