Penn Station Bias Graffiti: Brooklyn Man Arrested

CHELSEA, NY — MTA Police Department detectives arrested Brooklyn resident, Pasquale Vargas, 65, on Sunday in relation to multiple incidents of bias graffiti in Penn Station bathroom stalls.

Vargas was charged with eight counts of Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree under New York State law, according to the press release from NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. Due to the nature of the alleged offenses, they are being prosecuted as hate crimes.

Police believe Vargas is responsible for a series bias graffiti that have been found in Penn Station bathroom stalls since Feb. 18, which included swastikas and other statements such as, “KKK” and “Mexican Go Home.”

Upon his arrest, Vargas admitted to the crime during an interview and said he wrote it “because Mexicans take jobs from Americans,” according to the press release.

Vargas was arrested after the police found a black Sharpie marker in Vargas’s backpack that matched the graffiti in a bathroom stall he had just left.

The number of anti-semitic hate crimes in the first two months of 2017 has almost doubled in comparison to the same time period in 2016, according to a NYPD press release. (The count was 18 in 2016 and has climbed to 35 in 2017.)

With hate crimes on the rise throughout the state, officials want to make it known that New York has “zero tolerance for bigotry and discrimination in any form.”

“The MTA Police and our law enforcement partners across the state – including the State Police – vigorously investigate all hate crimes in order to bring those responsible to justice. No one should think they can get away with trying to intimidate the public in this way,” MTA Chief of Police Owen Monaghan said in a statement.

Last year, Gov. Cuomo established a State Police Hate Crimes Unit, which serves to aid other law enforcement agencies in investigations regarding potential hate crimes. A $25 million grant program was also created to increase the safety of NY schools and day cares prone to hate crimes due to their ideology, beliefs or mission.

Those facing bias or discrimination are encouraged to report incidents to a toll-free hotline at (888) 392-3644 or text “HATE” to 81336. The state offers $5,000 to anyone that comes forward with any information leading to the arrest and conviction of any hate crime.

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