As proof that being a high government official does not exempt U.S. State Secretary John Kerry from federal and state laws, Boston authorities fined him $50 for not shoveling the snow outside his house.

The snow was the result of the blizzard that hit the area on Tuesday.  The next day, a neighbor took a picture of the front of the townhouse, where Kerry owns a five-bedroom unit, as evidence that the snow was not shoveled, reports Nation.com.

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The neighbor then filed a complaint with the Inspectional Services Department on Wednesday. By Thursday, a ticket was issued to Kerry, who has lived in the Louisburg Square townhouse since 1995.

Boston Herald reports that it is not only Kerry who was issued a ticket but also 209 other city residents likewise failed to clear the snow in front of their homes.

While Steven Tankle, director of Code Enforcement Police, said he didn't know that the house belongs to Kerry, Beacon Hill Civic Association Chairwoman Keeta Gilmore lauded the ISD for being "indiscriminate about who they ticket and who they don't."

She said that sometimes some residents shovel the snow even that of the neighbor's as a gesture of goodwill, but Gilmore said no one did it for the secretary.

Glen Johnson, spokesman of the secretary, explained to Boston Globe, "Diplomats - they're just like us. Secretary Kerry was working overseas while the blizzard packed a wallop back home."

 A snow removal company was supposed to do the task, but because of a yellow hazard tape on the sidewalk placed as a warning of falling snow and ice overhead, it was mistaken by the firm for a police tape, thinking that part of the sidewalk was off limits, he said.

Johnson said that the snow has been cleared after the contractor understood the place was not off limits, and Kerry would be glad to settle the ticket. He added, "Let's hope this is the last blizzard of the year."

For Kerry's offense, AP called him "snow-shoveling scofflaw."

TagsJohn Kerry, blizzard, #Blizzardof2015, Boston