Photo courtesy of the NYC Sheriff’s Department
Members of the New York City Sheriff’s Department shut down an illegal “fight club” type event last week in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx, where a crowd of over 200 had jammed into a private warehouse. A video from the event showed many guests not wearing masks and the gathering may have been a ‘super spreader’ type event for the coronavirus.
The sheriff’s office reported that deputy sheriffs discovered the event, billed as the “Rumble in the Bronx,” taking place at 347 – 351 Coster Street at 11.15 p.m., on Saturday, Nov. 14. Video of the broadcast event showed gloved fighters slugging it out as the mostly unmasked crowd watched from outside a chain-linked fence.
The raid prompted the sheriff to tweet, “200+ people, violation of emergency orders, illegal combat, no liquor license.” The sheriff added that two loaded and illegal firearms were recovered from the scene, as well as illegal liquor, hookah pipes and small amounts of marijuana. Ten organizers were charged with multiple crimes.
When contacted for comment about the event on Nov. 17, New York City Sheriff Joseph Fucito said in an e-mail, “The Sheriff was tasked with this assignment [COVID regulatory enforcement] this year, 2020. Since July 2020, the Sheriff has taken enforcement against 31 locations. Three were in the Bronx.”
When asked about the possible jail time for hosting such a gathering, where liquor was being served, Fucito replied, “Most of the criminal offenses cited under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law and Penal Law are misdemeanors, with a maximum penalty of one year in jail for each offense.” He added, “The civil health code penalties range from $1,000 to $15,000 dollars.”
Photo courtesy of the NYC Sheriff’s Department
Fucito credited “criminal investigative techniques” in learning of the event and added, “Rumble in the Bronx had previously live-streamed their fights. Their website is currently down, so I cannot confirm if the fight that was raided was live-streamed.”
He also credited “the entire Sheriff’s office” for the bust, adding, “As a small agency, we operate on a generalist model, as opposed to a specialist model. All deputy sheriffs perform all work.” He added that the NYC Sheriff’s office currently has 150 sworn law enforcement officers, including 23 deputy sheriffs assigned to the Bronx.
Officials said Bronxite, Michael J. Roman, 32, the CEO of Rumble in the Bronx, and nine “organizers” were arrested and issued desk appearance tickets, and now face $15,000 in fines for breaking social-distancing orders for large gatherings, illegal alcohol sales and hosting unsanctioned boxing matches. Despite the raid and future legal ramifications, the Rumble franchise is currently publicizing a separate Rumble event in Orlando, Florida, scheduled for Dec. 5.
Photo courtesy of the NYC Sheriff’s department
Several attempts to reach Roman for comment were unsuccessful.
Also charged in the raid were organizers, Pedro Santiago, 31, of the Bronx; Anthony Hinds Jr., 31, of Massapeaqua, N.Y.; Nelson Torres Jr., 27, of Lindenhurst, N.J.; Ismael Vasquez, age unknown, also from the Bronx; Gerardo Prena, age unknown, also from the Bronx; Marko Garcia, 41, of the Bronx; Victor Liz, 23, of the Bronx; Jason Rivera, 36, of the Bronx and Jonathan Cepeda, 31, also of the Bronx.
Image via rumbleinthebronx.live
The raid comes on the heels of another gathering busted by deputies on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 170 West 233 Street, where over 125 people thought they would dance the night away, but instead were ordered out into the cold. An illegal Halloween party, shutdown by deputy sheriffs at a warehouse located at 1420 Seabury Avenue in Westchester Square, had drawn a crowd of 557 people, many wearing costumes.
The Sheriff’s Department has reported at least one such raid a week since March when the first social distancing guidelines went into effect. The gatherings will likely continue as new COVID restrictions go into effect, including restaurants and bars now closing at 10 p.m. as well as the recent closure of New York City public schools.
Fight Club is a 1999 American psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays the unnamed narrator, who is dissatisfied with his white collar job. He forms a “fight club” with soap salesman Tyler Durden (Pitt), and becomes embroiled in a relationship with him and a destitute woman, Marla Singer (Bonham Carter).
*Síle Moloney contributed additional reporting to this story.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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