NYC couple brutally beaten after telling fake energy company workers they shouldn’t be inside their swanky East Village building

Max Rivera, Steven Vago, Haley Brown
·4 min read
Victims pictured.
Two men are left "terrified" after a brutal assault by a group of men posing as energy salesmen.

An East Village couple were battered by a group of apparent energy company workers after they tried to boot the men from their swanky apartment building for soliciting.

Wayne Rada, 52, and his husband, Rey Rosa, 36, say the brutal beatdown unfolded after the group of men came knocking on the door of their East Third Street apartment back on March 5 trying to sell energy services.

When the couple attempted to escort the men from the building, the alleged attackers “gleefully” pummeled them both — and knocked out four of Rada’s teeth in the process.

“I don’t need to floss my teeth anymore, there’s so much space between them now,” Rada told The Post.

Wayne Rada (above), 52, and his husband, Rey Rosa, 36, say the brutal beatdown unfolded after the group of men came knocking on the door of their East 3rd Street apartment back on March 5 trying to sell off energy services. Stephen Yang
Wayne Rada (above), 52, and his husband, Rey Rosa, 36, say the brutal beatdown unfolded after the group of men came knocking on the door of their East 3rd Street apartment back on March 5 trying to sell off energy services. Stephen Yang
When the couple attempted to escort the men from the building, the alleged attackers “gleefully” pummeled them both – and knocked out four of Rada’s teeth in the process. Stephen Yang
When the couple attempted to escort the men from the building, the alleged attackers “gleefully” pummeled them both – and knocked out four of Rada’s teeth in the process. Stephen Yang

The couple said they were initially suspicious of the men at their door because the visitors hadn’t rung their buzzer to be granted access to the building.

Doorbell camera footage obtained by The Post captured the couple emerging from their apartment and asking a trio of the men to get out because the building didn’t allow “soliciting.”

The men insisted on taking the stairs, the couple said.

Once in the stairwell, Rosa said, he took his phone out to snap a photo of the group — and that’s when all hell broke loose.

One of the men allegedly swatted Rosa’s phone away, while the others pounced on Rada and bashed his head on the concrete floor, the couple claimed.

“I was being choked and uppercutted,” Rosa said, adding “they had me lifted off the ground.”

Rada said he eventually managed to wrestle his husband away from one of the alleged assailants.

“I’m terrified what would happen to him,” Rada recalled of seeing his husband being choked and lifted up by his neck.

Rada, who was treated in the hospital following the attack, showed off bruises he suffered from the March 5 ordeal. Stephen Yang
Rada, who was treated in the hospital following the attack, showed off bruises he suffered from the March 5 ordeal. Stephen Yang

Rada said he then started grabbing the men’s phones from their pockets and tossed them down the stairs to distract them.

As the alleged attackers scrambled for their belongings, the couple said, they fled back to their apartment.

Doorbell footage captured two of the alleged perps then pounding on their front door and demanding the couple return their belongings.

“Give me my s—t back,” one of the men could be heard shouting.

“When police open this door, I’m gonna bust your s–t open,” he continued after being informed cops were on their way.

“When police open this door, you’re not safe,” the man added.

Cops confirmed they responded to the apartment building at about 2 p.m. following reports of the disturbance.

Four men — Esteban Nunez, 28, Ameer Alonzo, 32, Sambou Macalou, 21, and Daniel Espina, 32 — were arrested and charged with assault and disorderly conduct, police said.

The couple said their attackers claimed to be selling energy services and carried this binder with them.
The couple said their attackers claimed to be selling energy services and carried this binder with them.
The couple said they’re afraid to live in their home after the brutal attack. Stephen Yang
The couple said they’re afraid to live in their home after the brutal attack. Stephen Yang

Rada said he was taken to Bellevue Hospital to be treated for his injuries, including an orbital fracture, a concussion and bruising all over his face and body.

The couple allege the group may have only been posing as energy consultants, though the police report lacks any such claim.

One of the men was carrying a binder for Brown’s Energy. A private Staten Island-based company with that name offering natural gas and renewable electricity appeared to be the only business with that name in New York City.

Reached by The Post, the company’s president said none of the men arrested were affiliated with Brown’s Energy.

“I am deeply concerned about the alleged incident and am fully committed to understanding the full scope of what occurred,” Michael Palmese said in a statement.

“I intend to investigate how and why these men were carrying a binder with our company name on it.”

The alleged attackers have all since been released without monetary bail, court records show. They will all face court again on April 16 or 17.