A Ridgewood, Queens man was arrested at the Barclays Center in Downtown Brooklyn on Wednesday, Aug. 14, for allegedly impersonating an MTA worker with forged identification while boasting about his “dangerous adventures” on social media.
Israel Santiago, 62, of 1724 Harman St. in Ridgewood, was booked at the 78th Precinct, where he was charged with criminal impersonation and a slew of other related crimes after a NYC Transit intelligence unit began monitoring his social media activity following a tip from a concerned citizen who saw Santiago on TikTok in late July.
Members of the intelligence team tracked Santiago and found him entering a restricted area at the Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center transit hub on Wednesday morning. He was wearing an MTA hat, reflective vest, shirt and forged MTA identification.
The Ridgewood man is an MTA contractor currently employed in the subway system. He had in his possession an MTA key card labeled NYCT MetroCard Temporary Transportation, but Santiago was not authorized to be in the secured transit area of Barclays Center when he was apprehended, police said.
“Impersonating a transit worker and wearing the uniform without proper authorization and training, while entering restricted areas, is a serious crime that can put real subway employees, the public and emergency responders at risk when something goes wrong,” MTA Spokesman Lucas Bejarano said. “This is not a reality show, and we’re grateful to the NYPD for excellent investigative work that gave this wannabe a more fitting costume — handcuffs.”
Santiago was also charged with two counts of criminal trespassing, five counts of possession of burglar’s tools, five counts of criminal possession of stolen property and forgery.
