An Elmo character poses for photos in New York's Times Square, 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)
An Elmo character poses for photos in New York's Times Square, 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)
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. These so-called 'street entrepreneurs' roaming Times Square are not like the familiar children's characters we've come to love. A string of arrests in the last few months has brought unwelcome attention to the growing number of people who make a living by donning character outfits, and charging tourists a few dollars to pose with them in photos.
