‘Roofie-slay’ raps
Gang ‘robbed, killed’ gay clubbers
Six alleged members of a gang that preyed on gay men at Hell’s Kitchen nightclubs have been indicted over the “roofie” murders of John Umberger and Julio Ramirez last year.
Warrants were issued Friday for the arrest of three of the men for first- degree murder, while all six were hit with charges of grand larceny, robbery and conspiracy to drug and rob at least a dozen victims.
Umberger, 33, (above left) and Ramirez, 25, (right) died from “acute intoxication” from a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol and other drugs, the city Medical Examiner found on March 3. Both men were victims of homicides caused by “drug-facilitated thefts,” after leaving the Q NYC and Ritz Bar and Lounge gay nightclubs, the ME found.
“Without the hard work and dedication of NYPD Detective Randy Rose and countless others we would be nowhere,” said Umberger’s mother Linda Clary.
She said Rose, after linking the deaths of her son and Ramirez, realized a gang was operating in Hell’s Kitchen gay clubs, drugging victims and using cash apps on their phones to steal tens of thousands of dollars.
Umberger, a Washington, DC, political consultant, disappeared May 28 after a night out at The Q NYC at 795 Eighth Ave. while visiting New York for work.
His credit card was used around 3 a.m. at the club and he was last seen an hour later on a surveillance camera with three unidentified men in a car outside the Upper East Side townhouse where he was staying. His body was found elsewhere four days later. More than $25,000 had been transferred from his accounts through cash apps on his phone such as Venmo and PayPal.
Five weeks earlier, on April 21, in similar circumstances, Brooklyn social worker Julio Ramirez, 25, was found dead in the back of a taxi on the Lower East Side about 4 a.m.
An hour earlier he had been seen on a security camera with three unidentified men leaving the Ritz Bar and Lounge, on West 46th Street, two blocks from Q NYC.
Like Umberger, his bank accounts were emptied of about $20,000 via apps such as Venmo and Zelle; later his credit cards were maxed out on expensive dinners and spa services.