Call it a spin-off of the ‘The Hangover’ in real life. A Connecticut doctor was allegedly abducted outside the Brooklyn Mirage music venue in July. He was then forced on a spending spree around Bronx. The venue had already gained notoriety earlier where two recent concertgoers went missing and were later found dead.
Michael Bautista was kidnapped by Anthony Benjamin outside the Brooklyn Mirage in the early hours of July 22. Bautista is a 32-year-old ophthalmologist and cataract surgeon from Norwalk. Over the course of the weekend, Benjamin, 42 was made to splurge $6,100 in the weirdest heist probably ever witnessed. The expenses included buying Benjamin clothes & shoes, paying for his haircut at a barber shop and a night out at a strip club, according to the obtained police report. It also included pocketing and distributing money to Benjamin’s friends in the neighborhood. This was allegedly through cash made to be forcibly withdrawn from ATMs.
It was an emergency call that saved the doctor from probable further spending utilization and the consequent unknown fate. Bautista was on call during the weekend and got a call from the emergency department in the wee hours of July 23. The doctor was able to convince Benjamin to avoid suspicion by allowing him at work. It was at the hospital that Bautista raised an alarm about being held against his consent that the police arrived and arrested Benjamin. The arrest also included a friend, Steve Daley, whom Benjamin had given the responsibility to drive the doctor’s car to the hospital. This was apparently done for Benjamin being unable to drive the manual vehicle involving stick shift.
Recent developments are equally staggering. Benjamin was released on a “promise to appear” back in court. It turned out he was not at the address he gave the cops on Thursday. His ‘Baby Mama’ at the address claims he has not lived there in 5 years. Even the phone number provided to the Connecticut authorities is wrong. The woman on the other line has absolutely no idea who he was. It is still unclear if the Norwalk Police Department have other means of contacting Benjamin. Remains vague why the suspects were allowed to walk despite the seriousness of their charges.
As expected, Bautista remained unavailable for comment. One thing possibly remains certain. He might never visit the Brooklyn Mirage on call again.