A homeless Times Square performer, who was arrested for going on an anti-Semitic tirade in New York while dressed as the Sesame Street character Elmo, has admitted trying to extort $2 million from the Girl Scouts of America, prosecutors said this week in a Manhattan court.
Dan Sandler, 50, who goes by the name Adam Sandler, pleaded guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court to attempted grand lacerny.
He was also charged with harassing and stalking a Girl Scouts employee with dozens of threatening and bizarre emails and photos.
Prosecutors say he wrote several rambling emails, including one that said: “I want a telecommute job from home of life at 150K, or a two million dollar cash settlement. As you know, the newspapers like to cover my evil Elmo scenario.”
According to Assistant District Attorney Lauren Littman the emails “became increasingly alarming and bizarre.”
He now faces two years in prison at a sentencing next month.
Mr Sandler was accused of threatening to publicize false information about the Girl Scouts unless he got the money. Prosecutors claim he sent harassing emails and photos to an employee of the nonprofit organisation.
Mr Sandler was arrested last year in Times Square after allegedly causing a scene that blocked traffic. It was alleged at the time that Mr Sandler had harrased women and girls in the incident and had screamed anti-Semitic rants.
At the time of the incident he was wearing the “Sesame Street” character costume. He pleaded guilty and his defence had argued that his rants weren’t a real threat.