Forty-three druggings, seven deaths: New York clubgoers face wave of violent robberies

Seven have died in the incidents since 2021, with much of the violence taking place around LGBTQ+ spaces

Last April, Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, met a group of men at the Ritz Bar & Lounge, a nautical-themed gay dance club in Hell's Kitchen, two blocks from Times Square. Less than two hours after leaving with them, Ramirez was dead from a drug overdose after his new acquaintances abandoned him in the backseat of a cab. Investigators believe they used payment apps like Zelle to steal about $20,000 from his bank accounts before leaving him.

A month later, John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant, was found dead in a Manhattan townhouse after meeting the same group of men at the Q, a multi-story queer nightclub around the corner from the Ritz. According to his mother, Linda Clary, Umberger had been with a group of friends until he decided to head to the Q alone to catch a late-night DJ show.