Israeli consulate worker charged with attempted murder for attack near NY nightclub
Member of Defense Ministry delegation to US said to have attacked man with glass jug, hitting him repeatedly in head; suspect said to be son of former senior official Israel Maimon
A worker at the Israeli consulate in New York City appeared in court Friday after he was charged with attempted murder for a recent attack on a man outside a nightclub.
According to the Daily Mail, 24-year-old Yonatan Maimon allegedly attacked the 42-year-man, hitting his head with a glass jug.
Channel 13 news said Maimon worked at the consulate as a member of the Defense Ministry’s delegation, and that he had turned himself in to authorities.
The Kan public broadcaster said the suspect was the son of ex-senior official Israel Maimon, a former cabinet secretary and the former head of Israel Bonds.
The attack took place after Yonatan Maimon visited the Gospel nightclub in Soho on February 26.
It was unclear if Maimon knew the victim, who has not been publicly named. The report said the motive behind the attack was unknown.
The victim was said to have been waiting at a traffic light when a bare-chested Maimon attacked him.
Video footage police were said to have obtained from the attack showed a man — said to be the suspect — striking the victim seven times, only stopping when the jug shattered.
The New York Police Department said the victim was treated for a brain bleed, as well as cuts and bruises.
The video came from a vehicle that Maimon also allegedly attacked.
The Daily Mail reported prosecutors believed they had a strong case against the consulate worker as in addition to the footage from the street, they also have CCTV video from inside the club and payment receipts, placing Maimon near the scene of the crime.
He was freed on $25,000 bail by the Manhattan Criminal Court.
Associates of the suspect claimed to Channel 13 news that he was not questioned by police before he was charged, and suggested — without evidence — that he may have been drugged at the nightclub.
