Bomb Scare Suspect Indicted; Hells Kitchen Sublet Scammer Surrenders

The alleged Times Square bomb scare suspect, Desean Maryat, 26, was indicted on Friday September 19, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced.

The indictment has the violent recidivist Maryat facing charges of placing a False Bomb or Hazardous Substance in the First Degree and Making a Threat of Mass Harm.

As alleged in court documents and statements made on the record in court, at approximately 10:20 a.m. on August 18, Maryat placed a cylindrical object wrapped in cardboard and secured with paper and tape in a manner designed to imitate a pipe bomb in front of the NYPD substation at 43rd Street and 7th Avenue in Times Square.

He propped the imitation bomb against the exterior double doors, and no one could enter or leave the NYPD substation without tipping the object over and fearing a possible explosion.

The NYPD’s Bomb Rescue Squad responded, and police shut down West 42nd St. to West 44th St. between Broadway and 7th Ave. to pedestrian and vehicular traffic for more than an hour. Police determined the object was inoperable, and Maryat was arrested after returning to the scene approximately four hours later.

Maryat is no stranger to the legal system. At the time of his arrest, police said Mayat was both on parole for an past assault conviction and free on three recent cases in Manhattan, for which he was arrested on June 12, July 18, and August 12. Maryat’s charges in these incidents include assaulting a senior; menacing and harassment; and criminal possession of a weapon.

Maryat is being held on Rikers Island without bail. His next scheduled court date on the bomb charge is December 11, 2025.

Hell’s Kitchen Apartment Scammer Surrenders

The bizarre case of Nicholas Fuelling, 43, the conman who rented the same Hells Kitchen apartment multiple times and then absconded with his would be tenant’s first month rent deposit money has taken an appropriately strange turn.

On Sept. 17, Fuelling surrendered himself to the Midtown North Precinct.

As reported in a prior Crime Watch, Fuelling had duped at least six apartment hunters with ads for a $3,200-a-month, two-bed, two-bath sublet at 334 W. 47th St. Add in a $3,200 deposit from each victim, and serial scammer had made a nice score.

After offering excuses as to why his victims couldn’t get into “their” new apartment, Fuelling vanished, after which some victims went to the cops, who issued a Wanted poster. Council Member Erik Bottcher also got involved.

Why Fuelling chose to surrender is unclear. He’s been hit with five counts of Grand Larceny and scheming to defraud charges, but since he pled not guilty, and the charges aren’t bail eligible, he walks among us still, despite not having returned the money to his victims.

Fuelling’s next scheduled court date is October 8. Unlike many Crime Watch subjects, Fuelling is represented by a private attorney, Kenneth S. Belkin. Esq.

According to the Belkin Law website, “Prior to becoming an attorney, Ken worked in NYC restaurants and played in various punk rock bands that toured the United States... Now he wears three-piece suits and spends most of his mornings in Court...”