Queens man recounts night he was drugged and robbed of $2,000 after going to Hell's Kitchen nightclub
NEW YORK -- A man who says he was drugged and robbed at a Hell's Kitchen nightclub is sharing his story in hopes of preventing it from happening to others.
It comes as police investigate a string of similar incidents at gay bars in the neighborhood, CBS2's Lisa Rozner reported Tuesday.
A dinner was one of the last moments Oscar Alarcon remembers from the night of March 14, 2020, a Saturday. After that, he went to the Ritz Bar and Lounge on West 46th Street to celebrate a friend's birthday.
"I remember showing my ID, giving my ID to them, getting my drink from the bar and I saw my friend dancing, going to the dance floor, and from that moment, I just don't remember anything," said Alarcon, of Jackson Heights.
The 33-year-old said he vaguely remembers walking on the street with someone, but the next clear memory he has is waking up in a hotel lobby the next morning.
"I saw all the declines on my phone. They took me to different ATMs to take money," Alarcon said.
He said he was robbed of around $2,000. He showed Rozner a screenshot that shows the same person transferred out increments of $400 to $500 from his PayPal, and even tried to change his contact info with Wells Fargo bank.
"To be honest, I was a little bit ashamed of myself because I thought it was my fault, like I should be more careful," Alarcon said.
Alarcon said he gave a written statement to police in the Midtown North Precinct and Jackson Heights, but no one from the NYPD ever followed up.
"I was hoping that they will do something, so I feel like they wait until something happen like this," Alarcon said.
He was referring to the deaths of Julio Ramirez and Jon Umberger in the spring. In both cases, the men were last seen leaving gay bars in Hell's Kitchen with strangers before they were found dead of suspected overdoses with fraudulent charges on their cards.
"That could have been me. These people, they've done it so many times. They're just professionals on that because how they did it to me, they knew what they were doing," Alarcon said.
Police sources told CBS2 there have been four arrests in one ring involving more than a dozen victims who survived. It's not clear if those arrested are being held accountable for the deaths of Ramirez and Umberger, which are now being investigated as homicides.
Rozner did try to get more details from the NYPD about Alarcon's allegations, but the department could not find any records on file.
Police are warning everyone to never leave a drink unattended, or accept drugs from a stranger.