Detroit police crack down on ticket scalpers

DETROIT -- About two dozen people have been arrested for ticket scalping in Detroit since the baseball playoffs began, police say.

It's legal to sell tickets above face value through the Tigers' Web site or on out-of-state sites. But under a Detroit city ordinance, it's treated as a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail or a $500 fine.

Among those cited are Matt Likins, a 38-year-old resident of suburban St. Clair Shores. He wanted to recoup some of the $2,800 he spent buying World Series tickets for home games at Comerica Park, so he posted two tickets worth $225 on the online marketplace Craigslist.com for $750 each.

Likins was caught in a sting when he tried to sell the tickets to an undercover police officer, The Detroit News reported Friday.

Thomas Cecil, Likins' attorney, said police are selectively enforcing an unfair rule. He said the Tigers were reselling tickets comparable to Likins' for $8,000.

"If the purpose of the ticket-scalping law is to protect the consumer from exorbitant prices, then it certainly doesn't do that when it allows for these exemptions," Cecil said.

Wayne County Sheriff's Department spokesman John Roach said the law states that permission is needed from the Tigers to sell tickets above face value. Those who own full-season ticket plans may sell their World Series seats for any price through the team's ticket-exchange program on its Web site. The Tigers keep about 10 percent of the new price as a processing fee, a Tigers spokeswoman said.

-- The Associated Press