The New York Police Department (NYPD) arrested two male suspects after investigators determined that they had entered the sewer system in Midtown Manhattan, near the hotel where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was staying, to steal valuables and scrap metal.
Kevin Rodriguez, 26, and Samuel Reveron, 25, of Queens, faced multiple charges of criminal trespass and conspiracy on September 25 for illegally entering the sewer through a manhole around 1:38 a.m. on September 23, at the intersection of Park Avenue and East 61st Street.
Eyewitnesses spotted the men emerging from a manhole near the hotel where Netanyahu regularly stays during the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting, prompting an immediate security response from the NYPD and the U.S. Secret Service. Authorities initially investigated whether the underground incursion posed a threat to the Israeli prime minister and other international dignitaries visiting New York during UN Week.
The police ultimately determined that the men appeared to be searching for precious items flushed into New York City's storm drains and sewers, ruling out any apparent terrorist threat to visiting foreign leaders.
NYPD detectives identified and traced the suspects using camera surveillance footage, automatic license plate readers, vehicle registration records, and by conducting door-to-door interviews along Park Avenue.
According to the criminal complaint, witnesses saw three men emerging from the manhole. The men then hopped into two waiting getaway vehicles and drove away. The two vehicles then crossed the Queensboro Bridge around 4 a.m., triggering license plate readers that recorded the identities of the occupants.
Investigators eventually traced the vehicles to Rodriguez and Reveron, who confessed to being two of the three men entering the manhole together.
Both men appeared in Manhattan criminal court and were released following their arraignments, while authorities searched for their remaining accomplice.
Brian Kennedy, an attorney representing Reveron, said that his client's activities had nothing to do with the UN or visiting foreign officials.
Kennedy told CNN that it was “entirely plausible” that someone would enter the sewer system to search for valuables, explaining, “Desperation leads to great efforts.”
The arrests come amid a series of multiple reported underground incursions across New York City in recent months that mostly remain unsolved until now.
Authorities have said that they have received reports of suspects entering and emerging from manholes in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, often wearing waders, boots and headlamps.
In several cases, NYPD investigators determined that individuals had entered the sewer system to search for lost jewelry, gold chains, rings, and valuable metals such as copper that they could then resell on the black market.
Videos of these manhole incidents have attracted attention online, where the strange sightings have fueled speculation about urban explorers, scavengers, theft rings, and other underground activities.
The Park Avenue incident drew particular scrutiny because of the sensitive security situation around Netanyahu, who has faced protests from far-left activists and opposition from New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, while the city hosted world leaders for the UN General Assembly.