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By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres criticized the administrations of both Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul, saying they were “complicit” in the murders of three innocent people by serial stabber Ramon Rivera, by letting him fall through the cracks. As reported by the NY Post, Torres penned a scathing letter to the mayor and governor, saying Rivera should never have been free on the streets, but that authorities failed. He also demanded that those directly responsible be fired. “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,” Torres wrote in the letter obtained by The Post.
Torres, a Democrat, has been representing New York’s 15th congressional district since 2021, and previously served in the City Council since 2014. He is eyeing a primary run for governor for 2026, per the Post. He is known to be a moderate, who has often stood against the left sect of his party to push public safety and has also been a strong supporter of Israel amid criticisms of the ongoing Gaza war and rising anti-Semitism throughout NYC.
“Not only did the State and the City fail to punish Ramon Rivera for assaulting a law enforcement officer, the City released him early for ‘good behavior,’” Torres said. “There are mothers and fathers; daughters and sons; wives and husbands who will no longer have loved ones because their government fundamentally failed them.” Torres called on officials to prohibit the early release of suspects who could be a danger to themselves and to the public. “The bureaucrat 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,” he added.
Rivera, a 51-year-old homeless man, went on a killing spree on Monday November 18, walking around the city from Chelsea to the East River with two kitchen knives and killing three random innocent people. Rivera later told the police that he chose his victims because they were “alone” and “distracted,” sources said. His victims included construction worker Angel Gustavo Lata-Landi, 36; fisherman Chang Wang, 67; and 36-year-old woman Wilma Augustin, who was near the United Nations building, per the Post. Rivera already had a lengthy criminal record in multiple states, but was free last week to wreak terror on Manhattan’s streets. He had been at Rikers Island till October of this year, after pleading guilty to burglary and assault. He served 9 months from February, and was freed early by the Department of Correction even though the originally sentenced was for 12 months, serving just two-thirds of the sentence, per MSN News.
Torres fumed at how Rivera was released early for “good behavior” after having assaulting a corrections officer, a testament to the state’s revolving-door of justice. Torres called the city Department of Correction “the worst offender” for having made the “inexplicable and inexcusable decision” to release Rivera early from prison. “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,” Torres said.
