Officials probing grisly mystery of man who died in Manhattan manhole

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://nypost.com/2019/10/16/officials-probing-grisly-mystery-of-man-who-
died-in-manhattan-manhole/

State officials are investigating how an apparently drunken man fell to
his death through an open Columbus Circle manhole and managed to go
undiscovered for two weeks.

The manhole cover at West 58th Street and Eighth Avenue was open again
Wednesday, as Verizon workers returned to the scene to try to blow out the
stench from the badly decomposed corpse, discovered Tuesday partially
eaten by rats, authorities said.

Enlarge ImageA large hose pumped air into the opening, but the smell of
decay continued to hang over the neighborhood.

Inside the hole there’s a 20-foot drop, one worker said, but a maze of
wires from various utility and telecommunications companies snakes across
the opening closer to the top.

Sources told The Post the body was found somewhere among those wires.

The state Public Service Commission on Wednesday said it will launch an
investigation “to determine whether there were any regulatory violations.”

“If there were violations, the company could face financial penalties,”
PSC spokesman James Denn said.

Surveillance video from a nearby building shows the ­unidentified man
stumbling through barriers and into the open hole at around 2:30 a.m. on
Sept. 30, police sources said.

Hours later, Verizon workers are seen returning to place the metal cover —
which can weigh up to 300 pounds — back on the hole, not realizing the man
was inside.

Police said the man might have been homeless, and possibly between 30 and
40 years old. He wore shorts and a T-shirt.

It is unknown if he was killed in the initial fall or if he died a
horrific, slow death after tumbling into the hole.

The city medical examiner is due to release autopsy results that could
determine the cause of the man’s death — and possibly his identity.

A Verizon worker said Wednesday that the utility would remain at the scene
around the clock until the city’s Department of Environmental Protection
shows up to make sure the cleanup is complete.

“Until the higher-ups give the go-ahead, we can’t shut it down,” the
worker said. “We have to be here, and that’s all they’ve told us right
now. Really, we are waiting on the [DEP].”

Verizon did not respond to ­repeated calls and e-mails seeking comment.

The DEP also did not respond to requests for comment.

But the grisly episode remained the talk of the neighborhood on Wednesday.

“It’s alarming, to say the least,” said Jersey City visitor Tiffany Adams.
“I’ve never heard of anything like this before.”
“Poor dude,” added Brooklynite Jeff Sykes, who works nearby. “It’s so sad.
Don’t fall in a manhole. People aren’t aware of their surroundings with
their headphones and their rectangular devices they’re walking around
with.”

Some even came up with conspiracy theories about the man’s horrifice
demise.

“Maybe he saw something or somebody doing something and that person did
away with him,” said construction worker Javier Cruz. “I just don’t
understand, with so many cameras, why they don’t know more.”



--
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Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party ran out of gas and got run over by a Trump
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Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for cleaning up the disaster
of the Obama presidency.

The Obama-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
approved Uranium One in fall 2010. With a little luck, we'll see
compulsive liar Hillary Clinton in jail before she dies.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.

Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
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