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Cookie Monster, Elmo get in Times Square trouble

By Verena Dobnik
Published April 9, 2013 4:00am ET
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Cookie Monster, Elmo get in Times Square trouble
A woman gives a monetary tip to characters in New York's Times Square after she photographed the girl with them, Tuesday, April 9, 2013. A string of arrests in the last few months has brought unwelcome attention to the growing number of people, mostly poor immigrants, who make a living by donning character outfits, roaming Times Square and charging tourists a few dollars to pose with them in photos. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) | Richard Drew

NEW YORK (AP) — Cookie Monster stands accused of shoving a 2-year-old. Super Mario was charged with groping a woman. And Elmo was booked for berating tourists with anti-Semitic slurs.

Times Square is crawling with entrepreneurs who dress up as pop-culture characters and try to make a few bucks posing for photos with visitors to the big city. But some of these characters are unlike anything you’ve seen on “Sesame Street” or at Disney World.

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