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Anti-Semitic Elmo Arrested For Trying To Extort Girl Scouts
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 6, 2013
Modified Jun 6, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 6, 2013
Modified Jun 6, 2013
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"Anti-Semitic Elmo"—aka the street performer in an Elmo costume who spewed hateful remarks in Central Park and Times Square—may be living in San Francisco now, but he's still getting in trouble with New York authorities!
Yesterday, Manhattan DA Cy Vance announced that Adam Sandler, the 49-year-old man underneath the sweaty furry costume, was indicted for trying to extort $2 million from the Girls Scouts—yes, the GIRL SCOUTS—by threatening crazy allegations, plus stalking and harassing a Girl Scouts employee.
Apparently Sandler had been employed by the Girls Scouts as a temp for a computer programming project in 2007. Sandler, whose employment was handled by the temp agency, finished his work in November 2008. But right after his crazy June 2012 arrest, Sandler is accused of "sending a series of harassing emails to his former supervisor at the Girl Scouts." Here's what the DA's office said:
His emails stated, in sum and substance, that he was earning money by dressing as the character Elmo and taking pictures with tourists in New York, and that he made anti-Semitic comments and mentioned the name of the Girl Scouts while doing so. SANDLER also wrote that he was infatuated with his supervisor, who requested that he stop emailing her.
According to court documents, in September 2012, SANDLER attempted to enter the Girl Scouts headquarters in Manhattan, but was denied entry by the building’s security. For the next several months, the defendant continued to email and leave voicemail messages for the supervisor...
SANDLER is also charged with extortion, for demanding a $2 million cash settlement or yearly lifetime income from the Girl Scouts, and threatening to widely publicize false allegations about the organization if it did not comply. His threatened disclosures include the false claim that the Girl Scouts arranged sexual encounters between adult men and underage girls at a scout camp. He also claimed, falsely, that the Girl Scouts allowed him to interact with the scout members, even though the organization knew that he had operated a pornographic website while living in Cambodia more than a decade ago.
Specifically, Sandler allegedly wrote in e-mails, "I will show up at Girl Scout functions and other places that parents and kids congregate and hold signs, connecting the Girl Scouts… with the Cambodian Rape Camp man" and "If I go the controversial route I will probably publish fictitious content about the Girl Scouts. And name names….Like your name! Because you were my caring supervisor who now gives me the silence [sic] treatment."
Vance said, "The defendant is accused of trying to use his widely publicized criminal history to extort millions of dollars from the Girl Scouts, a nonprofit organization that has worked to improve the lives of girls and young women for more than a century. The charges against the defendant also detail his harassment of a Girl Scout employee with dozens of threatening and bizarre emails, photos, and phone messages."
Sandler had previously revealed that after leaving the Girl Scouts, he realized he could make money as a street performer Elmo. On his flight from San Francisco on Monday, he allegedly said, "I want to continue doing my Elmo gig because I make a lot of money. I want to do that the rest of my life. I should have gone to law school instead of doing the e-learning."
Sandler, who is charged with attempted grand larceny, aggravated harassment and stalking, is being held on $200,000 bail. Also, his real name is "Dan Sandler." Here's one of the videos showing him harassing people in Times Square:
Tagged
adam sandler
anti-semitic elmo
crazy elmo
cy vance
extortion
girl scouts
manhattan da
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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