By New York Post (Politics) | Created at 2024-11-25 11:06:22 | Updated at 2024-11-25 13:25:43
2 hours ago
Enraged Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres slammed the administrations of Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul as “complicit” in the murder of three innocent people by serial stabber Ramon Rivera.
Torres said Rivera should never have been on the streets but authorities failed and let him fall through the cracks. Those directly responsible should be fired, he demanded.
“I am writing to express alarm at the complicity of the State and the City in the murder of three New Yorkers, who were savagely stabbed to death in a homicidal rampage that took hold in broad daylight,” the Bronx Democrat said in a scathing letter to both the mayor and governor obtained by The Post.
Torres, a moderate, has often gone against the liberal wing of his party with pro-public safety stance and by his full-throated support of Israel and Jewish residents in New York City amid criticisms of the Gaza War among left-leaning party members and rising antisemitism in the five boroughs.
Rivera, a 51-year-old homeless man, had a lengthy rap sheet but remained free last week as he left a bloody trail across Manhattan in a stabbing spree that killed three people from Chelsea to the East River — chillingly telling police later that he chose his victims because they were “alone” and “distracted,” sources said.
The madman allegedly stabbed to death construction worker Angel Gustavo Lata-Landi, 36, in Chelsea early the morning of Nov. 18, before killing fisherman Chang Wang, 67, near the East River, then stabbing Wilma Augustin, 36, near the United Nations, according to cops.
Torres called the city Department of Correction “the worst offender” for having made the “inexplicable and inexcusable decision” to release Rivera from a prison stint early — after serving just nine months of a 12-month sentence.
Rivera was released early for “good behavior” after assaulting a corrections officer, Torres said as he fumed against revolving door justice in the state.
“The bureaucrats in DOC who authorized the early release of Ramon should be fired. Those who cannot be entrusted with public safety should no longer be employed by the people of New York,” said Torres, who is eyeing a primary run for governor.
He said if Rivera had been sentenced to consecutive terms rather than concurrently for assaulting a law enforcement officer or made to serve his full sentence, “the three New Yorkers he murdered would still be alive.
“These tragedies are preventable but neither the City nor the State seem to possess the political will to prevent them, despite having the tools to do so,” the congressman said.
He said Hochul and fellow Democrats who run the state Senate and Assembly are a big part of the problem.
“The State refuses to grant the Mayor the legal authority he needs to prevent dangerous people from roaming the streets,” Torres said. “The City refuses to hold DOC accountable for the early release of a demonstrably dangerous criminal who went on a stabbing spree.
“The end result is incompetence that is not only destructive but deadly for New Yorkers,” he went on. “There are mothers and fathers; daughters and sons; wives and husbands who will no longer have loved ones because their government fundamentally failed them.”
He said city and state officials must learn from this injustice and adopt policies that would ban early release for those individuals who are a danger not only to themselves but also to the general public, for those who assault a law enforcement officer and or for those who commit crimes while in custody.
“Common sense demands no less. … We live in a State and City where the only people who seem to suffer consequences are the victims of crime and their loved ones. Enough is enough,'” Torres said in the letter.
Torres has ramped up his attacks on Hochul recently, calling her unpopular and the “new Joe Biden” who is vulnerable to losing to a Republican if she seeks re-election and is the Democratic nominee in 2026.
City Hall did not dispute Torres’ criticism and said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding Rivera’s release.
“Ramon Rivera’s ability to roam our streets freely is disturbing, which is why Mayor Adams was one of the first to question it publicly. The mayor has also been sounding the alarm about the revolving door of criminals being let back out onto the streets — after our police officers arrest them — for years now,” an Adams spokesperson said.
“We are in the process of reviewing this case internally, and appreciate the congressmember’s partnership as we work to keep New York City safe for all,” the rep added.
Hochul’s office referred The Post to comments she made last week about the Rivera stabbing rampage.
“Will we do more? Yes, we need to do more. No doubt about it,” Hochul said.
“And I want people to know that I will go back to the Legislature, I’ll go back with every tool in my kit to find ways to address this because this is not acceptable.
Meanwhile 11 federal, state and city legislators representing Manhattan delivered their own Nov. 21 letter of outrage to Department of Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, Department of Homeless Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park and Health+Hospitals president and CEO Mitchell Katz.
They called for an investigation into the lapses that allowed Rivera back on the street to kill.
“He was released into the public without sufficient care or oversight,” said the letter signed by among others Councilman Keith Powers, Borough President Mark Levine and Congressman Jerrold Nadler.
“All accounts indicate that Mr. Rivera’s case is a damning indictment of the failures of the criminal justice and mental health systems in New York City,” the letter stated. “The murders he committed may have been prevented.”
They requested answers as to what information was communicated between agencies and who made the call to release him early. The officials asked whether the assault that Rivera committed at Bellevue was considered in that decision.
“Did Rivera receive adequate mental health services, including an assisted outpatient treatment plan Kendra’s Law, and discharge planning services upon his release from Rikers Island?” they asked.
The fuming officials also asked about Rivera’s history while he stayed at the 30th Street Men’s Shelter and whether he experienced a mental health crisis.
Other signatories include state Sens. Liz Krueger, Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Kristen Gonzalez; Assembly members Harvey Epstein, Tony Simone, and Alex Bores; and Council members Erik Bottcher and Carlina Rivera.
