Suspect busted for squatting in Manhattan hotel room where powder sparked terror scare
A repeat offender has been busted for squatting in a posh Midtown Manhattan hotel room where some leftover talcum powder sparked a brief terror scare, police said Wednesday.
The talcum powder, which squatter John Taddei used after taking a shower at the Park Hyatt on W. 57th near Seventh Ave. was not toxic.
A worker at the Park Hyatt got sick while cleaning the room, sparking a partial evacuation.
Investigators are working on the theory the cleaner had a psychosomatic reaction to the powder, a police source said.
Cops identified Taddei, 55, as the squatter after finding surveillance video of him leaving the room and running the image through the NYPD’s facial recognition software, the source said. Taddei has 16 prior arrests and has previously trespassed at other hotels, police said.
Cops charged him with criminal trespass and theft of services Wednesday morning. His arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending.
The incident unfolded about 1:20 p.m. Tuesday as the worker began to feel dizzy and nauseous as she cleaned up the room Taddei had been squatting in.
Medics took her to a local hospital, where she told staff she became dizzy as she cleaned a white powder from the surface of a bathroom toilet.
The FDNY responded to the hotel and swabbed various surfaces in the room, which at first tested as a “possible trace” of an explosive substance, police said at a news conference Tuesday night.
Authorities initially thought the powder could be “a possible compound of high explosives,” according to a police source. But the test results were later determined to be false positives.
Police scouring hotel surveillance footage discovered that Taddei stayed in the room from around 8:20 p.m. Sunday to 10:30 a.m. Monday.
A family of five had just checked out of the room. Taddei found one of the family’s five key cards that was accidentally dropped in the street. The room number was on the sleeve, police sources said.
Cops collected video footage of Taddei hauling three duffle bags containing his belongings to the subway station at W. 57th St. and Sixth Ave., about two blocks from the hotel.
When he was grabbed a few stops away he admitted to taking a shower in the hotel room and using talcum powder that was in the room after he toweled off.
“They believe him,” the police source said. “He’s credible.”
Taddei often searches for misplaced or old hotel key cards on the streets. In the past he’s used the lost keycards to steal luggage, rob guests or use the hotel room if they’ve already checked out, police source said.
