Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., blasted the administrations of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, calling them "complicit" in the killings of three people allegedly by a homeless man who was recently released from prison.
In a letter to both the governor and the mayor, obtained by the New York Post, Torres said Ramon Rivera should never have been free to roam the streets and demanded the firing of those responsible.
"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, who represents the Bronx, wrote.
Rivera, 51, is accused of fatally stabbing three people across Manhattan, telling police later that he selected his victims because they were "alone" and "distracted." He has a lengthy criminal record but was free last week when the stabbings occurred.
According to police, Rivera allegedly stabbed construction worker Angel Gustavo Lata-Landi, 36, to death in Chelsea early Nov. 18. Afterward, he killed fisherman Chang Wang, 67, near the East River and then fatally stabbed Wilma Augustin, 36, not far from the United Nations.
Torres branded the city Department of Corrections (DOC) "the worst offender," for making the "inexplicable and inexcusable decision" to release Rivera early from prison for "good behavior" after serving nine months of a 12-month sentence.
"The bureaucrats in DOC who authorized the early release of Ramon should be fired," Torres said in his letter. "Those who cannot be entrusted with public safety should no longer be employed by the people of New York."
Had Rivera been sentenced to consecutive terms instead of concurrent ones for assaulting a law enforcement officer or been forced to serve his full sentence, "the three New Yorkers he murdered would still be alive," he said.
"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.
Torres, who is reportedly eyeing a primary run for governor, went after Hochul and fellow Democrats in the state Senate and assembly as a large part of the problem, writing, "Enough is enough."
"The State refuses to grant the Mayor the legal authority he needs to prevent dangerous people from roaming the streets," he 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 continued. "There are mothers and fathers; daughters and sons; wives and husbands who will no longer have loved ones because their government fundamentally failed them."
An Adams spokesperson said City Hall was in the process of investigating 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 spokesperson told the Post. "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."
"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," they added.
In comments about the stabbings last week, Hochul said there was "no doubt about it" that "we need to do more."
"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," she said.
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