TV & VIDEO - Aug. 12, 1988

From the Annals of Justice, this item: Arthur Anderson, a self-described TV addict in Danbury, Conn.--charged with chopping down a neighbor’s 83-year-old oak tree to improve his satellite TV reception--wants the citation erased because it’s his first offense. But his neighbor, who’s suing Anderson for $37,000, said he wants the tree-chopper to do hard time. Danbury Superior Court Judge Howard Moraghan ordered a Sept. 7 court date for Anderson, who could receive a maximum sentence of one year in prison for second-degree criminal mischief and six months for third-degree criminal trespassing if he is tried and convicted. The neighbor, Charles Marriner, said he has received letters from people as far away as Seattle urging him to pursue prosecution of Anderson.