Locals of a quiet New York City neighborhood are devastated after the 'system failed' their 76-year-old neighbor, who was savagely thrown down a flight of subway stairs to his death just weeks after a woman claimed she decided not to press charges in a separate attack.
Longtime neighbors of Ross Falzone, a retired teacher who lived for decades in his apartment on a peaceful street on the Upper West Side, slammed officials for allowing his suspected murderer, 32-year-old Rhamell Burke, to stay on the streets despite his lengthy criminal record.
'Where is the district attorney on this thing? They are completely not on the ball,' said an elderly man who lived in the same building as Falzone for 45 years. 'I mean, the guy had a long record of being a damn nuisance and doing other things not nearly as bad.'
Burke was hit with his latest charge on Friday for murder after he allegedly hurled Falzone down a staircase leading into the 18th Street subway station in Chelsea at 9.30pm on Thursday.
The alleged killer's most recent arrests included allegations of assaulting a Port Authority police officer on February 2, burglary on February 14, resisting arrest on February 25, and assaulting another person on April 2.
The victim of that April 2 assault recently revealed herself as a 23-year-old woman to The New York Post, recalling when Burke allegedly tried to bring her to the ground by grabbing her by the back of the head after kicking her friend while they were on the subway. She detailed how they managed to escape but told the New York Post that she regrets her decision not to press charges following the news of Falzone's death: 'Maybe a part of me was just like, I don't want to put another black man in jail, but, you know, at some point, if you are a criminal, you're a criminal, and he was scary, he was a scary guy.'
Longtime neighbors of 76-year-old Ross Falzone, a retired teacher, slammed officials for allowing his suspected murderer to stay on the streets despite his lengthy criminal record. The Daily Mail spoke to neighbors outside Falzone's apartment on a peaceful street on the Upper West Side who said they have lived in the same building as him for decades.
Rhamell Burke, 32, was charged with murder on Friday after he allegedly shoved the retired teacher down a flight of stairs of the 18th Street subway station in Chelsea at 9.30pm on Thursday.
A neighbor of Falzone's, who chose not to be identified, scoffed at the woman's choice before adding that skin color doesn't matter. Another woman who lived in the same building as Falzone for over 40 years claimed that 'Bellevue dropped the ball.'
Burke was transported to Bellevue Hospital as an emotionally disturbed person for psychiatric evaluation after officers said he was acting erratically and had grabbed a stick from a pile of trash before approaching them. Brad Weekes, assistant commissioner of public information for the NYPD, said Burke arrived at the hospital around 3.40pm and was taken into Bellevue's Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program for evaluation and treatment, but was released approximately an hour later.
Roughly five hours after walking out of Bellevue, police say Burke encountered Falzone on Seventh Avenue near West 18th Street. Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators allegedly showed Burke walking about 30 yards behind the retired teacher before suddenly rushing forward and violently shoving him down the subway stairs.
Falzone suffered catastrophic injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, fractured spine, and broken rib. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital - the same hospital Burke had been released from hours earlier - where he died shortly before 3am Friday. Burke was allegedly still wearing a hospital psychiatric bracelet during the attack after he was discharged in less than an hour.
Falzone's neighbor explained how difficult it was to watch recently released footage of the horrific attack: 'I saw that it was brutal and the guy just walked off.' 'The guy didn't even bother to steal his wallet, he just pushed him,' he later added.
Another neighbor added that Falzone was very frail, so frail that she was worried he might have gotten sick. The neighbor, an older woman herself, said: 'The system designed to protect us seniors failed us.' She described Falzone as a kind man who would reach out now and then about the building and added, with a laugh, that he could almost hold a conversation for too long. His longtime neighbor said he would spend months at a time in Pennsylvania caring for his ill mother before she recently passed. The neighbor was visibly upset as she described Falzone, adding, 'He was a sweetheart.'
According to the Post, Burke appeared in court for arraignment on Saturday where he did not enter a plea. He appeared to flash a smile at the judge during the hearing and seemed to have no remorse as he faces second-degree murder charges.
