A serial transit offender who police say should be in the subway crime “Hall of Fame” has been arrested for the 171st time — but not charged, according to police officials and sources.
Michael Wilson, 37, was caught illegally selling MetroCard swipes in his 27th arrest in just the past eight months, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office let him off without charges “in the interest of justice,” according to sources.
“If there was a hall of fame for Subway offenders – this guy would be on the first ballot,” NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper wrote in a spicy X note.
“However, certain parts of our criminal justice system seem to think otherwise.”
Bragg’s office has not prosecuted fare evasion since 2017.
A spokeswoman for Bragg said the office continues to “hold accountable those who endanger the safety of passengers and other transit workers on our subways.
“Last year’s decrease in transit crime across the province was the result of close cooperation with our law enforcement partners, and we continue that work every day,” the spokesperson said.
Wilson’s long rap sheet dates back to the subway token era, when he began making a whopping 171 arrests, most of them transit-related, law enforcement sources told The Post.
Michael Wilson, 37, who according to law enforcement sources has had more than 170 arrests, mostly for transit crimes.
Wilson’s rap sheet includes arrests for transit crimes ranging from criminal obstruction and fare evasion to possession of counterfeit tokens and unauthorized sale of fare cards.
He also has bail jumping, weapons and drug charges dating back to 2005, according to sources.
Kemper, who did not name Wilson in his post, instead referred obliquely to “subway retaliation amid the lawlessness and harassment our riders face at the turnpike” that has made more than two dozen arrests in the past eight months.
“With almost everything related to illegal and sometimes aggressive sales of Metrocard swipes. And in this latest incident inside Midtown Manhattan’s Penn Station, he also actively resisted arrest,” Kemper wrote.
According to sources, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office let Wilson go without charges “in the interest of justice.” LP Media
Wilson’s latest arrest occurred shortly before 10 a.m. Feb. 2, when police saw him swipe 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, but he refused, and began clenching his fists and stiffening his body in an attempt to evade arrest.
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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 has a student MetroCard.
No officers were injured in the arrest.
Wilson was arrested at the West 34th Street and Seventh Avenue subway station on February 2, 2024. Stephen Yang
But a law enforcement source familiar with the matter told The Post that the DA’s Office has declined to prosecute Wilson because it is not “in the interest of justice.”
Kemper takes exception to DA’s rationale, referencing it verbatim in his X post.
“Justice for whom? Recidivist criminals or law-abiding New Yorkers who just want to ride the subway without distraction or overt lawlessness?” Kemper said.
According to law enforcement sources, Wilson has an open case in Queens stemming from an arrest on December 7 of last year, for which a warrant was later issued. Further details on the case were not immediately available.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
