Man Stiffs Cabbie, Falls to Death in Trash Compactor

Little is publicly known about 34-year-old Ashish Shah of Jersey City at this time, but police say his life ended Sunday morning in the trash compactor of The Olivia, a luxury apartment building near Penn Station. A building employee tells the Post that for the second time in as many days, Shah had arrived outside The Olivia in a taxi and ran inside without paying. Police believe Shah had been "drinking for several hours" before his death, and It's unclear who, if anyone, Shah knew in the building. But just before 6 a.m. he was observed dashing past the doorman to the elevators. Cops say he took an elevator to the 36th-floor roof level, but after his attempt to get to the sun deck tripped an alarm, Shah took the stairs down to the 35th floor, where he somehow fell into a narrow garbage chute, plummeting to the garbage compactor 28 stories below. One resident tells the Daily News, "It's amazing that someone could fit in that hole."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on April 13, 2009 9:25 AM

Comments [rss]

farrah78

Wow, I've read through the comments and I am amazed by how heartless they all are. Regardless of how pointless the reason for death was (didn't have money to pay the cabbie?? that's too sad), we don't need to add to the tragedy by mocking it. Just because the internet grants the appearance of anonymity, that doesn't mean your actions don't have consequences. Please have respect for the family and friends of the deceased, who, at this moment, are probably frantically googling him to find more information and are going to find the revolting comments such as "MFer", who wrote "ashish shah - that's the probably the sound he made going down." Shame on you MFer!!! Shame!

I am so disappointed in my fellow New Yorkers today after reading the immature and, frankly, cruel comments left in response. No wonder the entire world thinks Americans are disgusting.

My heart goes to the Shah family and friends; may you find peace somehow in the midst of this tragedy.

farrah78

Wow, I've read through the comments and I am amazed by how heartless they all are. Regardless of how pointless the reason for death was (didn't have money to pay the cabbie?? that's too sad), we don't need to add to the tragedy by mocking it. Just because the internet grants the appearance of anonymity, that doesn't mean your actions don't have consequences. Please have respect for the family and friends of the deceased, who, at this moment, are probably frantically googling him to find more information and are going to find the revolting comments such as "MFer", who wrote "ashish shah - that's the probably the sound he made going down." Shame on you MFer!!! Shame!

I am so disappointed in my fellow New Yorkers today after reading the immature and, frankly, cruel comments left in response. No wonder the entire world thinks Americans are disgusting.

My heart goes to the Shah family and friends; may you find peace somehow in the midst of this tragedy.

rcltrh

Karma can be such a bitch a times.

Past Taliban

What's the big problem? It's just a regular trash compactor doing its thing; compacting trash.

Rob T Firefly

If you find a sawbuck in the trash, it wouldn't hurt to give it to the cabbie.

grandzu

He probably thought "I'd be stupid NOT to hide in the garbage chute"

Felix Hoenikker

Kudos, sirs, 1, 2, and 6.

I don't care what you smell!

Brooklynbobby

"Shah took the stairs down to the 35th floor, where he somehow fell into a narrow garbage chute, plummeting to the garbage compactor 28 stories below."

Well, isn't that where trash belongs?

Chelly

Actually those trash compactors are quite big. I lived in a luxury building off Times Square and yes, you can slide a body right down the chute.