An out-of-town Bank of America executive assaulted two topless desnuda street performers in Times Square Wednesday night after he accused one of them of pickpocketing his wallet, police sources said.
Mark Walters, 46, of Charlotte, NC posed for a photo with two of the painted ladies – Lourdes Carrasquillo, 32, and 20-year-old Maria Ruiz – with one on each of his arms, at West 44th Street and Broadway at around 9:30 p.m., sources said.
Walters realized his wallet was missing from his back pants pocket when he tried to tip the desnudas and then accused Carrasquillo of swiping his wallet.
“He turns to one of the women and says ‘where’s my wallet? You took my wallet!’” a law enforcement source said.
When Carrasquillo went to walk away, Walters allegedly grabbed her by her hair, dragging her to the ground, sources said. At that point Ruiz tried to intervene and then Walters allegedly elbowed her in the right side of her face, causing pain to her ear, sources said.
A cop about 50 feet away at his post dashed over and arrested Walters on two counts of assault charges, just before the “Silver Cowboy” of Times Square tried to help break up the chaos, sources said.
“That man needs to pay for what he did to me,” Carrasquillo told The Post on Thursday. “He hurt me. He grabbed us in the middle of the street and we tried to get away from him and he still kept trying to assault us.”
Ruiz, who is roommates with Carrasquillo in the Bronx, was treated for minor injuries at St. Lukes Hospital.
Cops found no evidence to support Walters’ claim that the desnudas swiped his wallet.
“I didn’t do any of that,” said Carrasquillo, referring to the alleged wallet theft. “I’ve been out here for two years.
Walters, who was in the Big Apple on business, was supposed to go back home to Charlotte on Thursday, sources said.
His bail was set at $1,500 during an arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court Thursday night.
“I grabbed her. I was looking for the police, but I thought she pickpocketed me,” Walter told cops, according to prosecutors.
Walters’ lawyer Gurmeet Singh told Judge Felicia Mennin that Walters was actually “kicked a few times” by the desnudas.
“His wallet has still not been recovered,” he added.
Singh also claimed that Walters was thrown to the ground by the “Silver Cowboy” street performer, citing the silver paint on Walters’ clothes.
“I don’t think this is appropriate at all,” said Singh, who added that if the case did not involve the topless ladies the judge would likely release Walters on his own recognizance.
Additional reporting by Kevin Fasick and Rebecca Rosenberg