Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Two longtime East Village residents are recovering from a beating they suffered inside their building by a group of men who said they were soliciting business for an energy company.
On Tuesday, March 5, at around 2 p.m., Wayne Rada (
pictured above), co-founder of
the LISA Project, said he buzzed in two people claiming to be from the "electric company" who came to his fifth-floor apartment to get him to sign up for Brown's Energy Services, an alternative energy supplier based on Staten Island.
Rada and his husband, LISA Project cofounder Rey Rosa, escorted the two workers to the elevator to show them the first-floor office where they could leave sales material.
The elevator stopped one floor down, and Rada and Rosa saw four to five more employees who said they were representing the same company.
Rada remarked that the group looked "more like a package theft ring," and Rosa took out his smartphone to photograph the men. At that point, the group allegedly pounced on Rada and Rosa, pushing them into the stairwell while punching and kicking the two. Rada described it as "gleeful rage."
Rosa was able to dial 911 on speakerphone and escape the men's clutches.
Rada, treated at Bellevue, suffered an orbital fracture of the left ocular bone, a concussion, extensive bruising, and four broken teeth, as well as the loss of a molar. Rosa has strangulation bruises.
Both said they were severely shaken and having a difficult time recovering from the incident.
Police sources, who were not authorized to speak on the record, confirmed that four men were arrested, and two others have outstanding warrants in connection with this assault. It's not immediately clear if the alleged suspects were actually in the building to pitch renewable energy services or if they were carrying bogus documents.
The suspects left behind photocopied documents, including an ID badge (we blurred the person's name) with Brown's Energy on it ...
During a phone call last Tuesday, Michael Palmese, the owner of Brown's Energy, expressed his shock and horror about the assaults and said that he was not aware of them.
"Unequivocally, we don't have any agents who work for us," he said. "We are a supply company and have only four in-office employees."
Palmese said they will hire third-party marketing companies for in-person pitching, telemarketing, and sales at concerts, sporting events, and other venues. He said he'd get back to us with information about any third-party vendors but had done so by the time of this post. He also did not respond to follow-up calls.
Back in his East Village building last week, Rada discussed the assault ...
... and pointed out where there were still blood droplets on the stairwell floor and walls where the suspects slammed his head onto the concrete...
"This is all too, too much ... happening inside my building. It's surreal and makes it impossible to sleep," Rada said. "[The attack] repeats over and over in our heads. We are so shaken up and scared."
