Crime in New York City is growing worse under Mayor Eric Adams, Ian Walsh Reilly, the president of New York City's Metropolitan Club, told Newsmax after a man crashed a fundraiser being held to benefit St. Louis attorney Mark McCloskey's run for the Senate and took off with a metal cashbox.
"It's really sad that Mayor Adams campaigned on certain promises he was going to make to restore law and order in the city," Reilly said on Newsmax's "National Report." "They have gone unfulfilled."
During the fundraiser event this month, Reilly and two other club members chased the suspect, who was identified in media reports as 61-year-old Gerard Jackson, from the club and stopped him until police arrived. The suspect now faces charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
"Mark came to New York and was speaking to our members and had a wonderful lecture, and it was during the social period afterward that we noticed that there was a man walking around who was dressed in a maintenance uniform," Reilly said. "We just figured he probably had ... just come in at the last minute to learn more about the candidate or enjoy the social itself but, in fact, he was there to rob us.
"I asked him about being a member of the SEIU [Service Employees International Union], which I am as myself a doorman. He was a little confused, which was a bit of a red flag, and then I walked away from him. It was moments later that he took his opportunity to steal from our lockbox."
The money was returned by the police, said Reilly, adding, "Think about it this way — crime in New York is so bad that it's gotten to the point where they're not only dressing up in costume. He had his microphone and everything. I mean, this was a true costume plan. Thankfully, it ended the way it did."
The suspect has a criminal record, Reilly added, "so we were able to bring to justice someone who had been robbing in New York City. [We] are very thankful that we brought him to justice."
Meanwhile, Adams is talking about several initiatives for cleaning up the city streets and jails, but Reilly said he thinks the real solution is to bring back more police officers and support them.
"This idea of adding social workers to come in and handle crimes in New York City ... we need more visible police on the streets," said Reilly. "That's how you restore order and hopefully it happens sooner than later."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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