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Second Ave. Subway Sneak Scaled Landmarks All Over NY

By Adam Nichols | May 9, 2011 9:20am | Updated on May 10, 2011 7:07am

By Ben Fractenberg, Adam Nichols and Serena Solomon

DNAinfo News Editor

MANHATTAN — An "urban explorer" allegedly caught sneaking into the Second Avenue Subway tunnel told DNAinfo that police just "did what they had to do" when they collared him and his three friends during their fireworks-laden "explorer" adventure.

Speaking as the fourth alleged accomplice, William West, was arraigned on trespassing and fireworks charges and released Monday afternoon, Eric Ruggiero, 25, said he and his friends had no idea that another man had triggered security fears by strolling through the PATH tunnel toward New Jersey before they entered it on Sunday.

Ruggiero blamed the press for blowing his story out of proportion, claiming that some published accounts of his adventure were inaccurate.

Eric Ruggiero, who is accused of sneaking into the Second Avenue Subway tunnel Sunday.
Eric Ruggiero, who is accused of sneaking into the Second Avenue Subway tunnel Sunday.
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www.ericruggiero.com

He was one of four men caught allegedly clambering into the darkness at 112th Street at 4.30 a.m. Sunday.

Ruggiero, Jacob Bloom, 21, of Glen Cove, LI and Braiden O'Sullivan, 21, of Connecticut, were charged with criminal trespass. West, 27, of Massachusetts, was also charged with posession of fireworks, after the group was allegedly caught with Roman candles inside the tunnel.

The group apparently police they were members of an "urban explorers" group and were planning to set off the fireworks to light up the tunnel for photography, a source told the New York Post.

On his website Ruggiero, who friends say recently moved from Harlem to Brooklyn, describes himself as a photographer. The site includes pictures which he says were taken during his high risk exploits.

They include climbing the Willis Avenue Bridge that connects the Bronx to Manhattan, scrambling to the top of Coney Island's 262 foot Parachute Jump ride and avoiding security guards to scale Riverside Church.

Photos posted on the site are taken from the tops of landmarks including the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, and the rooftop of the 630-foot-high IBM building on Madison Avenue.

Another website, set up by a group which lists Ruggiero as a member, describes adventurers roaming through a train tunnel called the "Freedom Tunnel," an Amtrak tunnel underneath Riverside Park.

The site says the thrill seekers take part in the adventures to "push ...boundaries and experience life in its rawest form."

A friend told DNAinfo Ruggiero — who also posted photographs of nude models on his website, some of which he claims were taken in an empty building he broke into — would regularly talk about his trips, and invite others to take part.

"He had invited me to go on one of those adventures, which I wanted to do," said the man, who didn't want to give his name.

But he said he didn't take Ruggiero up on his offer.

"There are different levels of this kind of thing," he said.

Asked if he was surprised by Ruggiero's arrest, the friend laughed and said, "No, not really."

It was the second breathtaking security breach in the transit system on Sunday — just days after the government warned al Qaeda was considering an attack of the nation's transit system.

Officials told the Post Reymundo Rodriguez, 20, of Bayonne, N.J., jumped on to the PATH tracks at a Manhattan station and walked two miles, underneath the World Trade Center, to Jersey City.

He was arrested after a Port Authority worker saw him climbing off the tracks at 3 a.m.

"I just put a bomb down on the tracks," he allegedly told police, according to reports.

When asked why he was on the tracks, Rodriguez allegedly told a PA worker, "The train never came ... so I decided to walk."

He also reportedly said President Obama said on TV that it was safe to walk through the tunnel.

He was charged with criminal trespass and released, the Post said.