Dead Victim's Mom Seeks Action, Says NYC Gang Targeting Gays
The mother of a gay man who died after leaving a New York club with three unidentified men is demanding action, saying her son's death is part of a pattern targeting gay men in the city, local news channel PIX reports.
"John Umberger reportedly went to The Q NYC on May 28 during a work trip from Washington, D.C.," the article detailed. "He later was seen on surveillance with three men in a car outside a townhouse on East 61st Street."
A story at W2ST completes the account: "Umberger was found dead on June 1 in an apartment in an Upper East Side townhouse belonging to his employer, Donald Trump impeachment lawyer Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice.
"Umberger was its director of diplomacy and political programs. His mobile phone and credit card had been stolen and more than $25,000 was missing from his bank accounts."
The case is strikingly similar to the death, and subsequent electronic robbery, of Julio Ramirez, a student who left the Ritz Bar and Lounge — located only two blocks from The Q — with three unidentified men on the evening of April 21. Ramirez was found unresponsive in a taxi a few hours later. Days after his death, someone using Ramirez' phone cleaned out his bank accounts.
"Preliminary toxicology reports show both Umberger and Ramirez died of drug overdoses, but evidence suggests they had been 'roofied,' " the New York Post reports.
Umberger's mother, Linda Clary, says that the two cases are linked, and claims authorities agree that one or more gangs may be operating in the city, targeting gay men for drugging and robbery. But Umberger and Ramirez may have been only two out of many victims.
Clary "told W42ST that since her son's death, she had been in touch with investigators who believe his case, as well as Julio's, are potentially connected to as many as 12 other incidents where victims survived the attack," the outlet reported.
"I think there are probably even more cases that were labeled as accidental drug overdoses, which is not the case at all," Clary said in remarks to the publication. "They 'roofie' you, take the credit cards out of your wallet, max them out, PayPal or Venmo themselves, and drain your investment accounts using the phone."
Clary insists that the authorities are not doing enough to apprehend the perpetrators, and has sought to out pressure on Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. The bereaved mother even turned to political messaging during this week's midterm elections to put pressure on the DA's office: The Post detailed that, "Over the weekend, she recorded a video message for the Save Our State group urging a vote for Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin in Tuesday's gubernatorial election".
"Lee Zeldin has promised to restore safety to New York and to fire District Attorney Alvin Bragg on day one," Clary said in the ad. "This election may be the last opportunity to hold my son's killers accountable."
Zeldin lost to incumbent New York Governor Kathy Hochul, but the investigation in Manhattan continues.