A suspect who cops believe is linked to the mysterious white powder found inside a Midtown hotel was charged Wednesday with trespassing there, authorities said.
John Taddei, 55, of Queens was hit with theft of service and criminal trespass charges a day after a “white powdery substance” was discovered near the bathroom sink at the Park Hyatt Hotel on West 57th Street, authorities said.
Taddei has a history of breaking into hotel rooms, and has 38 prior arrests, many of which are sealed, cops said.
As of Wednesday morning, investigators had not yet determined what the substance was, and Taddei faced no charges related to the powder.
Taddei, wearing blue jeans and a black jacket with white stripes on the arms, said nothing and looked down when he spotted the media — as detectives led him to an NYPD SUV outside the Midtown North stationhouse Wednesday morning.
Police launched an investigation after a chambermaid who came in contact with the substance Tuesday afternoon started feeling dizzy and nauseous and was hospitalized, police said.
The FDNY responded and swabbed surfaces within the room.
When they tested the collected samples cops found a possible trace amount of an explosive substance, NYPD Assistant Chief James McCarthy said at a Tuesday night press conference.
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The NYPD bomb squad and the FBI then rushed to the hotel, evacuating the entire 11th floor as a precaution and collecting their own samples from inside the room, McCarthy said.
Their tests found no evidence of a potentially hazardous material and investigators believe the FDNY’s initial test was a false positive, McCarthy said.
Police believe Taddei snuck into the hotel room and stayed overnight after a family checked out Sunday morning.
He apparently picked up a hotel card key to the room a family member had dropped, McCarthy said.
Taddei swiped into the room at 8:30 p.m. Sunday and left at 10:30 a.m. Monday, according to the NYPD official.
Police emphasized there is no threat to the public.
“I want to stress to all New Yorkers and visitors that there’s no credible threat against the city at this time,” McCarthy told reporters.
