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New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
‘Hall of Fame' repeat offender with some 230 arrests in trouble again with 4 busts in past month
The serial transit offender with about 230 total arrests who cops slammed as a candidate for the subway crime 'Hall of Fame' is in trouble again as he racked up four more busts over the past month before being dumped back onto the street, law enforcement sources said. Michael Wilson, 37 – who sources say committed 90 percent of his crimes in the subway system – was nabbed for the 25th time this year on Tuesday for allegedly riding between cars on a train passing through the 42nd Street-Times Square station, according to the sources. He then lied about his personal info to arresting officers, according to the sources. 4 Michael Wilson, 37, who has 170 arrests on his record, was most recently busted for riding between subway cars, sources said. Obtained by NY Post Wilson was also busted on May 25 for allegedly lying across multiple seats on a train car in Brooklyn, police said. On May 12, he was nabbed for allegedly smoking crack cocaine on a staircase at Riverside Drive and 104th Street on the Upper West Side, and then tossing the residue down the steps, cops and sources said. And on May 6, Wilson was charged with allegedly smoking crack on a moving train in Harlem, police said. He was released on each of the cases – which is nothing new for the serial offender, who earlier this year drew the ire of NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper. 'If there was a hall of fame for Subway offenders — this guy would be a first ballot inductee,' NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper wrote in a scathing X post. 4 Wilson was busted twice in May on crack-cocaine-related offenses, cops said. Stephen Yang 'And yet, certain parts of our criminal justice system seem to think otherwise.' Kemper's comments came after Wilson's Feb. 2 bust, when cops caught him swiping a rider through a turnstile with a MetroCard in exchange for cash, law enforcement sources said. He was ordered to leave the West 34th Street and Seventh Avenue subway station during the 10 a.m. ordeal, but he refused, and started to flail his arms and stiffen his body in an effort to avoid arrest. Eventually officers placed Wilson under arrest. They found six MetroCards in his possession, which they bent along their magnetic strips to render them unusable. He also had a student MetroCard. 4 Chief of Transit Michael Kemper previously called Wilson a candidate for the 'hall of fame for Subway offenders.' Stephen Yang Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office ultimately let him off without prosecution 'in the interest of justice,' according to sources. Kemper took exception to the DA's rationale, referencing it verbatim in his X post. 'Justice for whom? Recidivist criminals or law abiding NYers who simply want to travel on the subways free of harassment or open acts of lawlessness?' Kemper said. A spokesperson for Bragg said at the time that his office continues to 'hold accountable those who jeopardize the safety of other passengers and transit workers in our subways. 4 Wilson has four prior felony convictions — one for a violent offense, sources said. Stephen Yang 'Last year's decrease in transit crime throughout the borough was the result of close collaboration with our law enforcement partners, and we are continuing that work every day,' the spokesperson said. Before that bust, Wilson was arrested on two criminal tampering charges on Jan. 17, and seven others on Jan. 13, according to the sources. On Jan. 3, he was arrested and slapped with 11 charges – 10 for criminal tampering and one for theft of service, the sources said. The career criminal – whose first arrest was back in 2004 – was arrested 232 times over the years, but dozens of those cases have been sealed, bringing the unsealed total to 170, according to the sources. A whopping 135 of his arrests have been on felony charges, but he's only been convicted of felonies four times, with one of them a violent felony, according to the sources. His parole was also revoked several times, the sources said. He has also racked up 53 misdemeanor convictions, the sources said. Wilson had also been issued more than 30 bench warrants to failure to appear in court, according to the sources.
Fox News
23-05-2025
- Fox News
AI to monitor NYC subway safety as crime concerns rise
Imagine having a tireless guardian watching over you during your subway commute. It notices every detail with steady focus, all with one goal in mind: keeping you safe on the subway. New York City's subway system is testing artificial intelligence to boost security and reduce crime. Michael Kemper, a 33-year NYPD veteran and the chief security officer for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which is the largest transit agency in the United States, is leading the rollout of AI software designed to spot suspicious behavior as it happens. The MTA says this technology represents the future of subway surveillance and reassures riders that privacy concerns are being taken seriously. The AI system will analyze real-time camera feeds across subway platforms and train cars to detect unusual or potentially dangerous behaviors. Instead of identifying individuals, the technology focuses on behavior patterns that might signal trouble, such as erratic movements or confrontations. When the AI flags something suspicious, it can alert transit police to respond quickly, which could help prevent crimes before they escalate. Currently, about 40% of subway cameras are monitored live by staff. The AI aims to expand this coverage without needing additional personnel, which could enhance safety across the system. While details about the AI providers and full deployment timelines have not been shared, the MTA emphasizes that facial recognition technology will not be part of this system. This is intended to protect rider privacy. Crime in NYC subways has seen ups and downs over recent years. While major crimes dropped by about 7.7% through mid-2024, assaults have unfortunately increased. To bolster safety, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed 1,000 National Guard members to support transit police efforts. AI technology is viewed as a complementary tool in this broader strategy to keep subways safe, not a standalone solution. New York is not alone in exploring AI for transit security. Cities like Los Angeles and Chicago have experimented with AI-powered cameras for tasks ranging from weapons detection to issuing parking citations. These initiatives reflect a growing interest in using technology to enhance public safety in transit environments. While the promise of AI surveillance is encouraging, several questions remain unanswered. We do not yet know exactly which behaviors the system will flag or how effective it will be in practice. Perhaps more importantly, privacy advocates and civil liberties groups warn about potential biases in AI systems and the risk of false positives that could unfairly target certain groups. The MTA's decision to exclude facial recognition is a positive step, but ongoing transparency and oversight will be crucial. Michael Kemper's extensive experience leading the NYPD's Transit Bureau, where he helped reduce subway crime, adds credibility to the initiative. Still, as this technology rolls out, balancing safety with privacy and fairness will be key to earning public trust. Would you trust AI to watch over you in the subway or are you more concerned about your privacy? Let us know by writing us at For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Follow Kurt on his social channels: Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions: New from Kurt: Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Yahoo
Teen nabbed in his second subway break-in within a month amid rash of joyrides: MTA
A teenager alleged to have been involved in last month's R train joyride under Brooklyn was arrested again Tuesday morning, the Daily News has learned — this time for trying to get into the conductor's cab of a train in the Bronx. The 15-year-old boy was collared while entering the conductor's cab of a No. 2 train at the Prospect Ave. station in Longwood around 4:45 a.m., an MTA spokesperson said. 'Thanks to an alert train crew and nearby NYPD officers, a teenager who had illegally entered a conductor's cab on a 2 train was stopped and arrested before interfering with its operation,' the MTA's chief security officer, Michael Kemper, told The News. Kemper said the teen had been previously arrested for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 25 joyride. 'What's outrageous is that this perpetrator was recently arrested — and rapidly released — after taking an R train for a reckless unauthorized ride in Brooklyn,' Kemper said. 'We've improved security in transit, and the justice system needs to make sure these repeat criminals get the consequences and parental oversight they clearly require.' A source with knowledge of the investigation told The News that a second teen was involved in the latest attempt, but bolted from the train and evaded police. Tuesday's early-morning arrest comes amid at least two more subway break-ins over the long holiday weekend, sources tell The News. On Friday, transit workers at the Unionport Yard in Van Nest, in the Bronx, found a No. 5 train had been moved from where it had been parked in the train yard and run over an emergency stop signal, sources told The News — the same thing that had happened two days earlier — overnight Wednesday — on a nearby track. In a separate incident on Sunday in East New York, a C train was found to have been moved more than two car lengths while parked overnight along a stretch of track past the Euclid Ave. station. That train appears to have come to a halt after running over an emergency stop at a closed switch track. Sources said teenagers were suspected in each instance. As previously reported by The News, MTA officials are investigating an Instagram post thought to be made during Wednesday's incident, in which at least two young men can be heard talking aboard a train as it eases over an emergency stop in the yard. Subways in train yards are generally unable to enter the general flow of subway traffic without explicit authorization from the yard's control tower. Emergency stops — part of the subway system's signal network — exist to keep trains off of tracks where they don't belong. When a red signal is present, a stop-arm extends up from the track, designed to trip a lever on the train, activating the emergency air-brake system. Despite the stop-arms, a squad of teens — allegedly including Tuesday's scofflaw — was able to take a pair of R trains parked on a layup track in Brooklyn on a joyride last month. The crew, as first reported by The News, managed to take the trains out on a 30-mph run along a section of express tracks in Brooklyn, past at least one green signal — though it remains unclear how far they got. Three teens, including the boy arrested Tuesday, have been busted so far in connection with that joyride. Last September, two teens were busted after cameras caught them swiping a subway car from a layup track in Queens, then crashing their stolen train into another set of parked subway cars at low speed.
