As It Happens

City of Saint John cracks down on pothole vigilante

Spurred to action after seeing a hearse being bounced around by massive potholes in his neighbourhood, Saint John resident Mike Defazio used his tractor to fill them with gravel. For his trouble he received a phone call from the city telling him that crews would be dispatched to re-open the potholes and that he would be picking up the tab....
Spurred to action after seeing a hearse being bounced around by massive potholes in his neighbourhood, Saint John resident Mike Defazio used his tractor to fill them with gravel. For his trouble he received a phone call from the city telling him that crews would be dispatched to re-open the potholes and that he would be picking up the tab.
Deputy Commissioner of Transportation and Environment services, Kevin Rice, informed Mr. Defazio that private citizens are not permitted to do road work.

"I'm not trying to buck the system...The people want these things fixed."

Mr. Defazio ended up paying $450 to a private contractor to re-open the holes, but says if they aren't fixed soon, he'll fill them in again.

Hear our interview with Mike Defazio - the Pothole Vigilante.