Two boat tour ticket sellers working in Battery Park assaulted a Hungarian tourist on Saturday, police said.
One of the suspects ran when police approached. The other was caught and taken to the First Precinct.
Police have not yet said what charges they may bring against the man they captured. His criminal record includes charges of rape, robbery and assault, police said.
The victim was a Hungarian man visiting New York with his wife and child, said sources. The suspect allegedly hit the man in the face in a fracas that erupted shortly after noon.
The two suspects were selling $30 tickets to boats that departed South Street Seaport. The tickets purported to be for New York Water Taxi boats, and were labeled “Statue of Liberty Express.”
“Boat does not disembark at the Statue of Liberty,” the tickets say.
Tour ticket selling hustlers plague tourists at the Battery. Many of the tickets they sell are fake.
Police crackdowns have not curbed the scammers. “Those guys can really get out of hand,” said a police source.