Attack on Metro-North Hudson Line Ends in Conviction

The person responsible for the horrific attack that landed an MTA worker in the hospital has been found guilty.

If you ride the Metro-North Hudson Line, it is easy to think of the stations as routine stops along the daily commute between the Hudson Valley and Grand Central. One of those familiar stops turned into the scene of a violent attack that has now led to a felony conviction.

A Bronx man has been found guilty of assaulting an MTA police officer at the Croton-Harmon Metro-North station, a major Hudson Line stop used by thousands of Hudson Valley riders heading south into Manhattan.

Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace announced that John Sicotakis, 46, was convicted by a jury of Assault in the Second Degree, a felony, along with a misdemeanor charge of obstructing governmental administration.

The incident happened in the early morning hours of September 28, 2024. At about 2:30 am, an MTA police officer found Sicotakis asleep alone on the platform at the Croton-Harmon station. The officer was conducting a welfare check at the station, which sits along the Hudson Line connecting communities throughout the Hudson Valley with Grand Central Terminal.

According to prosecutors, Sicotakis became irate during the encounter and threw items from his backpack onto the platform. When the officer began issuing a littering ticket, Sicotakis grabbed the officer’s wrist. After being placed under arrest, he allegedly kicked and punched the officer, attempted to bite him, and made death threats.

Officers from the Croton-on-Hudson Police Department responded to help make the arrest. The MTA officer suffered serious injuries to his wrist and knees, requiring surgery and long-term physical therapy.

Judge Maurice D. Williams ordered Sicotakis held at the Westchester County Jail while awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled for January 23. During the trial, Sicotakis was also rearrested in an unrelated domestic incident in Croton-on-Hudson.

District Attorney Cacace called the attack “brazen and unprovoked,” while MTA Police Chief Thomas Taffe said the conviction sends a message that officers protecting riders on the Metro-North system will not be tolerated targets.