MANHATTAN — A career criminal was arrested for an assault on a tourist near the Staten Island Ferry terminal earlier in the week, according to sources and the NYPD.
Robert Andersen, 25, sucker-punched the 33-year-old victim Monday afternoon after he rebuffed Andersen’s common law wife when she tried to sell the tourist a ticket to the Statue of Liberty, sources said.
The victim fell backward after the punch, hitting his head on the pavement and fracturing his skull.
He is recovering and is in stable condition, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
Andersen, who lives in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, has been arrested numerous times and is currently on parole for burglary, according to sources.
Battery Park police were familiar with him and helped the NYPD identify the suspect, sources added.
He was apprehend at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and taken to the First Precinct, according to the NYPD, where he was later charged with felony assault.
