Although he claimed it wasn’t him in last month’s viral Long Island Rail Road video of a man’s racist rant toward a black woman, 58-year-old Edward Ruggerio has been charged by the Queens, N.Y., district attorney with menacing as a hate crime.
In addition to the hate crime, Ruggerio was charged with a count of second-degree aggravated harassment—both crimes come with a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail.
Authorities charge that the video shows Ruggerio’s minute wypipo rant, in which he called a black woman he was arguing with everything from a monkey-fucker to a bitch.
“Shut the fuck up, you fucking loudmouthed monkey motherfucker,” yelled the man whom prosecutors have identified as Ruggerio.
“I can’t listen to your fucking black ass no more ... you fucking loudmouthed bitch ... at least I got a fucking mother. Do you know who your mother is?” the man continued. “You don’t know who your mother or your father is because you’re a fucking monkey, that’s why.”
After the video went viral, Ruggerio was quickly identified, but of course he denied it was him.
Queens DA Richard Brown released a statement about the charges against Ruggerio and admonished the lead-paint eater.
“The bigotry and hatred that the defendant is accused of manifesting and acting upon have no place in a civilized society—especially in Queens County, the most culturally diverse county in the nation,” Brown said.
“No one should be subjected to the vile words and intimidating actions the defendant is accused of tormenting the victim with. Crimes of hate will never be tolerated here and when they do, regrettably occur, those responsible will be brought to justice,” Brown continued.