Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Weeklong Hate Spree Preceded Ecuadorian's Murder
By
Billy Parker
Published Nov 22, 2008
Modified Nov 22, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Billy Parker
Published Nov 22, 2008
Modified Nov 22, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Before the stabbing attack that would claim their final victim, 37-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero, the Long Island gang known as "The Caucasian Crew" had been out on "beaner jumping" missions for almost a week leading up to it. The Patchogue attacks included knocking one man unconscious after sucker punching him in the mouth and shooting another with a BB gun. Police believe that there are more victims as well who have not come forward out of fears for their safety. Earlier this week, charges against the Caucasian Crew ringleader, Jeffrey Conroy, who is accused of stabbing Lucero were upped from manslaughter to murder.
Those familiar with tensions in Patchogue say that the attacks and the murder go beyond being just racial attacks. The Post describes it as "a volatile mix of anti-immigration fervor, economic unease and an overwhelming flood of newcomers." While Patchogue is a diverse town, many of the children of immigrants do not fully integrate because they are taught in separate English-as-a-second-language classes. One teenager tells the paper, "These guys, these Mexicans, everyone has a hatred for them. Downtown Patchogue used to be nice, and now they make it all dirtbaggish."
But while Ecuadorians in Lucero's hometown of Gualaceo greeted the return of his body in a casket this week holding up signs such as "No to Yankee Racism," some say that we shouldn't lose sight of the just how young the attackers were. Stephen Steinlight, a senior policy analyst with the Center for Immigration Studies said, "It seems to me they were just 'wilding' - like a scene straight out of 'A Clockwork Orange.'"
Photo Courtesy AP/James Carbone
Tagged
beaner jumping
hate crime
Jeffrey Conroy
long island
Marcelo Lucero
patchogue
suffolk county
teenage attack
Billy Parker
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
Neighbors had complained of traffic and loud concerts for years.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 2:49 p.m. ET
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Charles Lane
Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .