Pair Scammed Out of Rangers Tickets Takes Revenge on the Wrong Guy, Police Say

A 17-year-old Englewood boy was assaulted by two enraged NY Rangers fans who mistook him for a man they claimed sold them bogus playoff tickets a week earlier, according to Englewood police.

Robert Brancaccio, 39, of Hillsdale, and Raymond Sorg, 43, of Ridgefield Park, are facing aggravated assault charges for allegedly "slamming" a 17-year-old to the ground Saturday night at a shopping center in Englewood, as the boy was headed to work. The teenager was taken to Englewood Hospital with a shoulder injury, police said.

Brancaccio and Sorg had purchased four Rangers-Bruins playoff tickets from 41-year-old Bronx resident Tony Harrell on Craigslist last week, according to Detective Captain Timothy Torrell.  But the $640 tickets were phony and they were forced to watch the game from a bar near Madison Square Garden after being denied entry, Torrell said. 

According to police, angry and seeking revenge, the pair hatched a plan to confront Harrell. A little internet research and help from another individual led them to Harrell, posing under a different identity, still selling phony tickets, police said.

The pair arranged to meet Harrell at the same Englewood shopping center with a plan to confront him about the rip-off and then contact police, Torrell said.

When they spotted a man they thought was Harrell, they slammed him to the ground and assaulted him, according to police. The pair then called police to tell them they had found the man they believed to be Harrell. Police arrived and while the duo were explaining their sting operation, Harrell called asking where they were, Torrell said. 

“That’s when these guys realized they had made a very big mistake,” Torrell said. The teenager was simply walking to work at the time he was reportedly assaulted.

Police also picked up Harrell as he unknowingly approached the area, finding a marijuana pipe and other phony tickets, authorities said. He was remanded to Bergen County Jail on theft by deception and drug paraphernalia charges. The convicted felon was already wanted by Englewood detectives for another alleged ticket scam in November 2012.

Brancaccio and Sorg were each charged with third degree aggravated assault. Brancaccio had warrants out for his arrests in other New Jersey towns. They were both released after posting bail, police said.