Nurse-home death ruled a homicide

The death of an elderly man who fought with his Brooklyn nursing home roommate over a pair of pants has been declared a homicide, officials said Friday.

First responders were called to the Crown Heights Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation about 3:15 p.m. on Aug. 10 after Eitel Vargas, 74, started brawling with his roommate, police and sources said.

“They got into an argument over a pair of pants,” said the source, who described the incident as a “tug of war.”

“(Staffers) witnessed the guy hitting (Vargas) in the head and they immediately separated them,” the source said.

Workers at the St. Marks Ave. center called 911. Medics rushed Vargas to Interfaith Medical Center, then to Kings County Hospital for further treatment, but the injuries were too severe.

Vargas died of a pre-existing heart condition three days later at Kings County Hospital, police said.

The city medical examiner on Thursday declared his death a homicide. The assault exacerbated the heart condition, which led to his death, officials said.

Vargas’ death remains under police investigation, said an NYPD spokesman who added that the department was never told of the fight.

The state Department Health is also investigating.

“The New York State Department of Health takes these disturbing allegations with the utmost seriousness,” DOH spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said Friday. “Upon learning of this incident, we immediately opened an investigation. As this is an ongoing investigation we cannot comment further.”

Nursing homes are required to report any incidents of assault and sexual abuse at their facilities to the state, and are required to identify residents whose personal histories put them at risk for abusing other residents, according to federal rules.

Richard Brum, an attorney for the Crown Heights Center, said staffers were “cooperating fully with authorities since we first reported this incident when it occurred in August.” of